Latina Heart
by NoleeMarieLacroix
Summary: After Vickie and Adam's wedding, Lillie examines her own life. Friends and enemies both new and old bring themselves to the light. And often the ones you shouldn't trust are the ones closest to you.
1. Prolouge

title: Latina Heart

plot: After Vickie and Adam's wedding, Lillie examines her own life. Friends and enemies, both new and old bring themselves to the light. And often the ones you shouldn't trust are the ones closest to you.

disclaimer: Lillie and Alex I own. Anyone else I do not.

warning: M for mature themes and situations. You have been warned.

Prolouge

It's been two months since I last spoke to you guys and a lot has happened to me since then. Of couse I've gained a new "father" in Adam Copeland because he married mami and I can't stand that. But other things, possibly more important things, have gone down. Let's start with my relationship with Phil. We're going strong and we still haven't...well..."celebrated" being together. I understand it. I guess with the two of us being straight edged, the celebrating has to wait until we're married. If we ever get married. If we don't, I don't mind. I just enjoy laying in his arms at night without having to do something for him. Happiness with Phil is almost as easy as breathing, it just comes natural. Even the fans seem to be enjoying the times they get to see Phil and I in the ring together be it alone or as part of the Straight Edged Society.

Speaking of the Straight Edged Society, that's something else that's changed. There used to be four of us that were like a big dysfunctional familia: Phil was the padre, I was the madre, Serena was our little bambino, and Luke was the weird uncle who comes over every Thanksgiving and eats all the sweet potatoes. Sadly, our baby girl has moved on to other things. No, Serena didn't die, she was fired. Vince didn't want another girl in the Straight Edged Society. Obviously he didn't know what was going on between Serena and Luke. Well, is going on, Luke's still with her so it isn't over yet. Instead of leaving Serena behind and getting no one else we got made the caretakers of a superstar who hasn't been in the WWE for several years: Joey Mercury. That's right folks, the man who was originally fired for drug usage has been sent to our care to help him with his little problem. He's a nice enough guy and there's no reason to dislike him but Phil, Luke, and I don't see him as a true member of the familia. Maybe one day he will be though.

Something else that has happened since I last talked to you was yet another wedding. This one, however, wasn't something to puke about. This one was between to really close friends of mine. Since proposition 8 passed in California John and Alex decided that it was probably a really good idea to go ahead and get married before it was over turned yet again. I don't think that I had ever seen anything so wonderful. Alex wore a white suit with a hot pink tie while his bridesmaids (that being me and his sister Natalie) wore pink dresses. John wore a black suit and a baby blue tie while his groomsmen (Joey Mercury and surprisingly Matt Hardy who he had patched things up with) wore almost the exact same thing. They had it on a little strip of beach right outside of Los Angeles. It was so perfect and such an honor to be a part of something that could help change America that I couldn't help but cry when they kissed. That's what a wedding's supposed to be like. I could see Phil as we walked back down the aisle. I guess he could tell what I was thinking because he smiled ever so gently and nodded. That night we didn't talk about the wedding. That night we talked about our career's and what direction their headed in.

Now that I've got you up to date on somethings that have been going on, I guess I can tell you whats going on right now. Currently, I've been doing a lot of promotional work for the WWE as the first woman's US champion. That means a lot of photo shoots and autograph signings and I even got to be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. But this Friday Vince told me that he wants to announce something big for me as a champion. I hope it isn't something that's going to change my life forever. I must admit, I've thought about who he can make me fight for the titles. I mean so far he's had me fight Curt Hawkins, who every time I fought him could barely keep up to the pace I had set for him, and Kofi Kingston, he was a bit tougher to beat but in the end I still did it. I don't know what I'll do if I have to fight Rey or Phil for the title. I mean, I know how much he wants to be a champion again but I think at the moment he's feeling good about not being one. Besides, I don't think Phil would put himself in a situation where he had to hurt me. Sure, you can think about the match we had against each other in the past where we fought for contendership to this title but in the end it ended up being me who won. Now that we're together I don't think he'd hurt me. And then there's the matter of having to fight Rey Rey. He's my padre, the man who helped birth me but didn't raise me. I've lost all animocity to him so I don't really know what I'd do if I had to fight him. We pretty much have the same styles and the same fighting manuevers except for the few Guerrero moves I use.

Anyways that's neither here nor there. Vince has something planned for me on tomorrow's show and I don't know what it is. It's late and I watch Phil laying next to me in our Miami hotel room. All I know is that I have a feeling in my gut. That feeling is that I haven't lived my greatest adventure yet. But I'm sure as hell about to.


	2. Setting The Scene

Chapter One: Setting The Scene

Let me tell you a little something I know from personal experience: Smackdown changes when your a champion trying to show that you deserve that championship to the crowd who, sometimes, doesn't think you deserve it but would rather go for the hometown heroes. I've been all over the world and I've been booed against in favor of some really weird choices. I once got booed when I was in a tag team match with Phil against the team of Yoshi Tatsu and GoldDust from Raw. Another thing that they expect from you when you're a champion is that you need to dress a certain way. That means I have to wear something that reflects what the fans think of me. The fans think I'm a Latina hero. That means I have to wear something that they'll think highly of. I'm standing in my locker room, a perk that isn't so great about being a champion is you get your own locker room and have to stay in it when you're a champ, checking my reflection out in the mirror. My hair has gotten a bit longer and now reaches my shoulders though it's still the same pretty brown color. Right now instead of wearing my regular ring gear I'm wearing a green short sleeved button up shirt, a pair of black slacks, and black high heels. Vince likes to see his champions dress up. In fact, I think the only one who never dressed up except for the hall of fame induction ceremony is John Cena. Even Orton's dressed up at one point in time. I hear a knock on the door to open it to see Phil standing there looking at me. He's in his normal ring gear for the night but the thing that still gets me is his lack of hair. See, he had a match against Rey-Rey and said that if Rey won he'd have to join the Straight Edged Society but if Rey won, he'd shave his head. Rey ended up beating Phil and Phil had to shave his head. For a while he hated it but when he was finally unmasked by The Big Show, he decided it wasn't that bad. I, however, have thought it was cute since the very beginning. I mean, at first when he was really, really bald I would giggle but as soon as I grew acustomed to it, it wasn't half bad at all.

Anyways, I exit my room and start walking down the hall with Phil. "So, what do you think is going to happen tonight?" I ask him, a smile on my face.

"I think they're going to say that you have a new number one contender." Phil smiles, "They haven't given you one in a while."

"And who do you think they're going to make me face? Because as long as it's not like The Undertaker or Kane, I'll be okay." I laugh as we walk to the entrance ramp. Teddy Long is standing back there and as soon as he sees me, he smiles at me. "Hey Teddy."

"Holla Lillie!" Teddy smiles, "See you out in the ring?"

"Or you could tell me whatever you have to tell me now," I smile, crossing my arms and looking at him.

"I could but I think that the fans would appreciate it much more if I told you out there in front of them," he nods.

"_**AND IT'S JUST LIKE /THE OCEAN UNDER THE MOON/WELL THAT'S THE SAME/AS THE EMOTION THAT/I GET FROM YOU/YOU GOT THE KIND/OF LOVIN THAT COULD/BE SO SMOOTH SO/GIVE ME YOUR HEART/MAKE IT REAL/OR ELSE FORGET ABOUT IT**_..." begins my theme song. I walk out to the ring holding Phil's hand with fans cheering and yelling for me as we get to the ring. I smile and pick up a microphone from the side of the ring. "How you all doing tonight?" the fans scream and I wait for their cheers to die down before I start talking again, "Well, I was told that Teddy Long has something to tell me. So before I let him come out here I want to tell all of you that I don't give a damn what he has to say. I have this title in honor of all of you. So that means all of you are giving me the strenghth to do what I can."

"_**YOU KNOW IT'S THE/MACK MILLITANT COMING TO/GET IT ON HEY/GET OUTTA MY WAY/I'M COMING THE THUNDER/AND LIGHTNING IS STRIKING/I'M FIGHTING YOU ON/THE STORM FEEL THE/PAIN THAT I'M TRYING TO CONTAIN**_..." start's Teddy's theme song. He does that swaggering walk to the ring and smiles at me as he stands at the entrance ramp. "Lillie, now, I don't dispute anything that you've said with you except for caring what I have to say. Because you should care what I have to say playa because it regards your United States Championship." I adjust the championship on my shoulder and he smiles at me, "You see, I've created a tournament for your championship and I thought that telling you who was going to be in this tournament would be a good idea. First of all we have a nice young man named Jack Swagger!"

"_**CHECK ONE TWO OH/YEAH OH CHECK THIS/SHIT OUT I GOT/YOU WHERE I WANT/YOU YOUR CLOCKS RUN/OUT OF TIME CAUSE/YOU KNOW I KNOW/YOU AND I'LL SHOW/YOU THAT THE HEAT/YOU FEEL IS MINE/YEAH FEAR IT GRIPS/YOU AND IT RIPS YOU**_..." start's the young man's theme song. I had heard talk about this kid, he's from ECW. He's tall with an arrogant smile which shows his pearly white teeth and cold blue eyes. His hair is blond and cut short so that it sort of spikes in the front. His ring gear is reminisent of college wrestling gear and what I hear about this kid is that he use to be a two time all american. That's pretty impressive. He stands at the entrance, off to one side but still behind Teddy. The music stops and Teddy smiles, "Next we have someone you're close to."

"_**NOW LISTEN THIS AIN'T/NO MAKE BELIEVE C'MON/OPEN YOUR EYES AND/SEE NOW GET UP/GET UP AND FOLLOW/ME I'M GONNA SHOW/YOU WHAT THE FUTURE/WILL BE TO MUCH/WASTED TIME YOUR GONNA/WASTE NO MORE**_..." my eyes bulge open when I see John heading to stand next to Jack Swagger. It's not that I can't believe that he's in the number one contender tournament. He's a great fighter and he deserves it. I just know now that if I plan on getting ready for fighting any of these people who are going to be in this tournament, I have to get ready to fight him. I nod at him and he looks at me, smiling. "Not only do you have the possibility of fighting John but there's another man you might have to fight that you consider a friend."

"_**STANDIN ON THE ROOFTOPS/WAIT UNTIL THE BOMB/DROPS THIS IS ALL/WE GOT NOW SCREAM/UNTIL YOUR HEART STOP/NEVER GONNA REGRET WATCHIN/EVERY SUNSET WE'LL LISTEN/TO YOUR HEART BEAT/ALL THE LOVE THAT WE FOUND**_..." again, I'm shocked and it's not because I don't think he deserves it. Not only do I have the possibility of fighting John but now I have the possibility of fighting Alex. He walks out to stand next to Johnny and something else hits me. At one point in the tournament, they may have to fight each other. Now, I don't know if you remember what happened the last time John had to fight someone he loved in a match. That last time was when he and Matt broke up. Everyone thought they were going to be together forever. I'm almost afraid for the happily married couple of whats going to happen if they end up having to fight each other. "Alright Teddy, so we have three people in this little tournament. Who else could we possibly have?" I shout at him. I'm starting to get angry.

"Well, there is someone who techincally gets a rematch even if you weren't the one he has to fight," Teddy says. "_**AWESOME I CAME TO/PLAY I CAME TO/PLAY THERE'S A PRICE/TO PAY TIME FOR YOU/TO GET DOWN ON/ YOUR KNEES AND PRAY/I CAME TO PLAY**_..." I groan, knowing exactly who that is. The Miz, who isn't even a Smackdown superstar, walks out to the entrance ramp and stands on the other side of Jack, not wanting to get anywhere near Alex and John because it would probably be a bad idea anyways. It was because of Alex that Mike had to give up his title anyways. I remember not so long ago when I puked on Mike's shoes after getting drunk before a show where I had to cut a promo against him. Obviously he remembers to beause he's looking at me like I did something terribly wrong. I'm a changed person but that doesn't mean I can't look back on what I did and think it was sort of funny. So know I know at least four people who are fighting for my title. For it to be even this will either have to be it or there will have to be one match that's a three way match. Teddy looks at me and continues, "There are two more superstars who have made a good name for themselves and are in this tournament and yes, that is an uneven number. One of the matches will be a three man match."

A familiar music hits and I feel Phil squeeze my hand. Luke Gallows walks out looking at us. Luke of all people. I thought I could trust him. Not that I don't trust Alex or John but Luke is supposed to support me because I'm a member of the Straight Edged Society. I shake my head and look at Phil who is yelling and cursing. I rub his arm and he looks at me, shaking his head. After we get done looking at Luke and feeling angry, his music cuts out and yet again another familiar theme song plays. "_**BOOYAKA BOOYAKA 619 HEY/BOOYAKA BOOYAKA THAT'S MY/PUEBLO BOOYAKA BOOYAKA 619/ HEY BOOYAKA BOOYAKA REY/MYSTERIO..."**_ Rey heads out looking at me and I can't believe it. This tournament has three of the four people that I hoped never to have to fight in such a serious setting. I don't know whose going to win. All I know is that whoever wins will have to try their damndest to get my title away from me.


	3. Long Time, No See

Chapter Two: Long Time, No See

I head backstage, Phil following after me. I can't tell you how bad I feel about what happened out in that ring a few minutes ago. How could half of my best friends want to challange me for the title? I understand it's coveted to be a champion and everyone wants to be big with their name in lights but it hurts to know that you might have to fight someone you care about. I can understand fighting The Miz, Jack Swagger, and even Luke a little bit. Fighting Alex and John is pushing the envelope. But Rey...that's the one that gets me the most. I know the fans don't know but he is my father. Having to fight him in a one on one match is going to be hard for me. I mean, do you all remember when we were in a over the top rope battle royal together? I could barely fight him then and had to wait for Phil to eliminate him. I don't know if I could fight him face to face. "Lillie wait up!" Phil calls after me.

I turn to look at him, "Wait up for what? You're waiting for Luke! I would prefer not to see anyone who was out there a few minutes ago. You know, when I was out there listening to who would be competing against each other for my United States Championship?" I don't mean to have an attitude but I guess I do because Phil looks hurt.

"Baby, he's still our friend and a member of the Straight Edged Society. Maybe he can tell us why he did that," frowns Phil. "I mean, he's normally a good guy when it comes to fighting friends and all of that. He wouldn't do it without a reason." He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in for a kiss.

I nod and lay my head against his chest, "Your always the voice of reason." I see someone come to rest behind Phil and I look up to see Luke. "So your in this tournament huh?"

He nods, "Look, I'm only doing it because Vince told me that if I won I could pick anyone to be my valet to the ring and that I would get to step out on my own. I don't mind being a member of the Straight Edge Society but...I could have Serena back here again. You guys know hos much she means to me. If I could get her back here..."

Now I can see his reasoning and it doesn't seem to crazy. In fact, I think I would do the exact same thing in his shoes if Phil was the one I was trying to get back into the game. "Luke...if it does come down between me and you, I won't go easy on you even though your a friend of mine. I'll take on a fight with you just like any other competitor holmes."

Luke smirks at me and nods, "I wouldn't expect it any other way. Now, if you and Phil will excuse me I have a date with Serena tonight."

"One last thing before you go," Phil says to Luke, "Who are you fighting in the first of the tournament?"

"I got settled with The Miz," Luke replies before turning out and walking away. So at least I can put that image in my head. And Luke is a good fighter and all but, even as much as I hate to say it, The Miz is more cunning and more powerful. He'll have a hell of a time actually beating him. I shake my head and head back to my locker room, Phil still tagging along behind me. When I get to my locker room, there's a young man standing outside of it.

"Can I help you sir?" I ask, loud enough for him to hear me. He turns and I feel like I'm standing face to face with a ghost. He's got a remarkable face with black hair cut short that it spikes, two familiarly cold brown eyes set in a tanned face, and a smirk that I thought I'd never see again in my entire life. "Alberto?"

"Lillie, long time no see!" he smiles at me as he heads toward me. Phil steps in front of me slightly, almost protectively.

"Lillie, who is this?" Phil asks.

That's a good question. You see, this mans name is Alberto Del Rio and we trained together at my Uncle Hector's school. He hasn't changed much since then and back then, well, I had a huge crush on him. He's a good man with a good heart. I didn't know that he was WWE bound. "Allow me to introduce myself, mi amigo, my name is Alberto Del Rio. I'm an old friend of Lillie's from her childhood. We trained together in Hector Guerrero's school."

I nod, "Alberto was one of the few friends I actually had after dad died. Everyone else thought..." I stop myself short. Phil doesn't know alot about my past still, especially not about the fact that I use to cut. I'm almost afraid that if I tell him, he'll leave me. I never even told Dave about that and I don't love Dave half as much as I love Phil. "everyone else thought that I was pretty much a loser."

Alberto nods, "And I was pretty much a nerd. She helped Hector focus on my strengths. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. I just came to tell her hey."

I smile, "When did you get in?"

"Well, I saw that you're the champion and that's bueno," smiles Alberto. "I also saw that there's a tournament to get it away from you. Now, I don't know the other guys from Adam but, well, Rey...he shouldn't do that. He's basically an Uncle to you."

I hold back my laugh, if he only knew the truth. "Yeah, that's pretty rough. So you're a superstar here now? Oh, and I almost forgot, Alberto this is my boyfriend Phil Brooks."

Phil nods and then looks at me, "I'm gonna go get changed. I'll catch up to you later Lillie." He walks off and I turn back to Alberto.

"So, your either interning here or your the new Smackdown superstar everyone's talking about." I laugh as I unlock the door to my locker room and let Alberto walk inside first.

"I'm the new superstar esse," Alberto smiles.

"Nice, it'll be good to have another friend here. As long as your not going to be my next opponent for my title that is," I laugh. I walk into the bathroom and change into my street clothes, which consist of a white tank top and black jeans, and then walk back out. Alberto is smiling at me.

"You really did grow up to be the kind of champion your padre would be proud of," he smiles.

I blush and shake my head, "You always had your silver tongue. Glad to see that didn't change. What have you been doing since I last saw you? I mean you were in the school before I got hospitalized and then when I came back you weren't there..."

"My parents moved us back to Mexico," he smiles at me and lays back on the bench. "I didn't even get to tell you goodbye. You were my best friend. I wanted to see you one last time. But, hey, that's neither here nor there."

I smirk, "That's true. Well, when can we hang out again? I mean, I would love to spend more time with you but I kinda promised that I'd go eat with Phil."

Alberto smiles and gets back up, "Why don't you tell me as soon as I get comfy huh? We could always hang out tomorrow? I mean, we work together."

I nod and open the door to leave again, "That sounds like fun." I hug him, "It's great to see you. Maybe next time we can talk more too."

He nods, "Yeah. Can I have your phone number?"

I pull a piece of paper out of my pocket and write down my phone number, "Here. I've got unlimited texting to so don't be afraid to talk to me."

He nods and pockets it, "I'll send you a text and let you know it's me. Talk to you later." He walks away and I smile to myself. Certainly somethings never change. And me and Alberto being friends is one of those things.


	4. Meeting The Maker

Chapter Three: Meeting The Maker

Yesterday has since come and past and Phil and I are currently in the car. For some reason he wants to see the place where it began for me. He wants to see the Guerrero gym. I smile as we pull up outside of the small brick building. "Are you sure you want to meet Uncle Hector?" I ask smiling at him.

He nods and puts a hand on my shoulder, "I know I want to do this. I want to get to know every aspect of your life Lillie. This is a main aspect of where you came from. Hell, I haven't even met your uncle yet and we're in a very nice relationship. I mean, I've eaten dinner with your mami I don't know how many times."

"That's different Phil. She's a girl, of course she's going to like you. Uncle Hector's not exactly a nice man. He's gruff and he thinks that ever since my father died, he has to look after me like I'm his daughter," I sigh. It's true. When I'm around Uncle Hector tries to protect me from everything. I really don't want Uncle Hector to treat Phil like he's treated most of the guys who have been trying to get involved in my life. I could even tell that he had a bit of a hatred for Alberto even though Alberto and I have never been anything more than best friends. "So are you sure you want to go in there?"

Phil gets out of the car, answering my question for me. I sigh and follow him in. The gym hasn't changed much on the inside since I left. To the left there are machines meant to strengthen your core and muscles while the right is punching bags and other materials meant to help you with speed and agility. But in the center of that beautiful gym us kids use to refer to as the hell hole is the ring. Uncle Hector always use to tell me how he and Papi trained together in that ring and when the old man whose gym it had been in before decided to close his place down, he gave it to Uncle Hector. I spent years of blood, sweat, and tears in that ring before I finally made it in the WWE. And now, looking back, Uncle Hector did make me a better person. It was here that I learned that while strength, speed, and ability play into the game it takes a certain something else to make it big. It takes heart. I grab Phil's, who is looking around the gym wide eyed like a kid in a candy shop, hand and lead him to the back where Uncle Hector is talking to a young man. "Now, Jose, when you get in that ring to practice with Hannah remember you'll remember what I thought you, si?"

"He makes boys and girls fight each other?" Phil asks incredoulsy quiet.

I smirk, "How do you think I got as good as I am now esse?"

"Makes sense," laughs Phil as Uncle Hector turns around. Other than the fact that he doesn't have a mustach, he looks the same as I remember him from all those years ago.

"Lillie Belle Guerrero, what are you doing in here? Come to train with us again? A big WWE superstar like you who started out in this gym will be a good role modle for these kids," Hector smiles as he hugs me. "Or did you come to introduce to this young man at your side?"

I smile and pull back, "Uncle Hector, this is Phil Brooks. He's a superstar on Smackdown with me and my boyfriend. He's also my occassional tag team partner."

Phil extends his hand but when he see's Uncle Hector give him the stink eye, he pulls it back. "It's nice to meet you sir." Phil nods. "Lillie has told me so much about you and about the gym here in general."

Uncle Hector nods, "Funny, this is the first time I've ever heard about you. She talked more about Alberto than she did you."

I wince when Uncle Hector says that and Phil turns to me, "Uncle Hector, not only did Alberto train here with me but he was also my best friend. That's the only reason I use to talk about him okay?" I shake my head, "You two be nice to each other, especially you Uncle Hector. Phil's a good man and he just came here to get some more insight on my past."

"Si, si," Hector smirks. He leads us inside of his office and I smile. Behind his desk on the wall, he still has that same poster he had when I was training here. It's a poster promoting a wrestling league back in Mexico that he and papi use to work for. The poster has my father on it, complete with the horrible haircut he use to have, and his wrestling gear on looking at Uncle Hector who is standing next to him. They both hold the tag titles. "So, what do you want to know Phil?"

Phil sits down and smiles, "Tell me everything. I want to know about her as a kid."

"So before those sad events after her father's death?" Hector asks to make sure.

"Right up until I met her in the WWE," Phil nods.

Uncle Hector smiles and launches into a tale about my life. He goes through everything, telling Phil about how when I was a kid I use to be so demanding of my familia and friends because I thought that being a Guerrero made me better than them and about how I lost my first fight while training and learned a little thing called humility. Phil seem's engaged in every word. But then Uncle Hector starts telling him about the darker side I had after my father died. "We found her in the bathroom with that razor in her hand and drove her to the-"

"That's enough," I interupt, seeing the look in Phil's eyes. "No more."

"He told me he wanted to know everything," frowns Hector. "I was just telling him everything."

"There are somethings that are better left in the past for the people we love not to find out," I say before storming out of the gym. I go to the car and sit on the hood, not wanting to be there with Phil. I had never told him about it because I didn't want him to judge me. I love him. I really do but there are some things that people just can't forgive. I shake my head as Phil walks out of the gym, "So now you know."

"Lillie, why didn't you tell me this before?" he asks coming to sit next to me on the hood of the car.

"I...after all that you've been through in your life..." I stammer, "if you found out that I tried to end my life because of something so trivial as papi dying, I thought that you'd reject me, you'd hate me for it."

Phil takes my hand in his, "I could never hate you Lillie! Your the love of my life. But this...this is something that you should have told me. I understand where you're coming from. If I was as close to my father as you were to Eddie, I may have tried that to. But you had to know that there were other ways to move on from that."

"I was so young Phil, I didn't want to tell anyone that I was feeling weak. I didn't want to tell them how much I really did need dad. He was always there. I'm not saying mami wasn't because before Adam she was just as there for me as papi was. But there was this bond between me and Papi. That's why I let people call me Latina Heat. Because he was Latino Heat and I'm just like him." I cry, drying my tears with the backs on my hands. "God, listen to me out here blubbering to you."

Phil rubs my back, "It's okay to cry, get it off your chest if you want to."

I lay my head on his shoulder, "I know I should have told you but I didn't I was afraid you'd leave me."

"Never will I leave you, I promise," Phil responds as we sit there. "Just...promise me you won't do that ever, ever again. You'll never use a razor to do anything other than shave."

"As a part of your Straight Edged Society, I promise you baby." I smile. We sit there on the hood of the car and just hold on to each other. "I love you baby, I really do."


	5. A Thin Line Between Friends and Enemies

Chapter Four: A Thin Line Between Friendship and Enemies

It's Tuesday and time for the first house show of our week. We have one on Thursday, a live show on Friday, and a show on Saturday. It's one of our busiest weeks. But luckily, I don't have much of a match schedule with this tournament going on. Tonight, however, I'm required to be at ring side to do a bit of commentary. I haven't done much of it so I spent time watching my dad on commentary on Sunday and Monday. He was so sly, so slick. Do you know the term "silver-tongued"? It means that you can say anything you want and charm your way into anyone's heart. My dad did that. Hell, even he was a heel he couldn't stop the fans from cheering for him. Unless he was up against Rey that is. Then the fans loved to cheer for Rey and loved to boo my dad. Hell, even I booed dad when I was younger and he was fueding with Uncle Rey-Rey. Anyways, back to my original topic: tonight's show where I have to do some comentary. I wanted to look nice to join Matt Striker and Todd Grisham at ringside tonight so I'm wearing a black dress that fits tight at the bossom and is cut just above there and comes down to my knee's. At some point at the middle it looks scrunched up. My plain black high heels work nice and the only piece of jewelry I have on is the promise ring that Phil got me all those months ago. I fix my hair in a short french bun and apply smoky gray eyeshadow and red lipstick. I hear a knock on the door and say, "C'mon in." Yeah, probably not a good idea for a champion to tell random people she doesn't know who they are to come into her room. I'm not worried. I can still probably take anyone back here, even in a dress.

I hear a gasp and turn to see Phil standing there, smiling to himself. He has a look in his eyes that says wonder and honor. I can see he hasn't shaved off his facial hair and I really, really do hope he's shaved what fans have started calling his "chest beaver"*. "Wow...Lillie...you look..." he stammers, unable to form a coherent statement. "You really are a diva aren't you?"

I laugh, "What you didn't think I was a diva before? And why not?"

He shakes his head, "You've grown up from the girl I once met here on Smackdown. Anyways, am I coming with you to the ring to watch Alex's match?"

I look at him, bewildered. "Alex? I thought tonight was The Miz's match."

"It is, The Miz traded Rey Mysterio places. So tonight it's going to be Alex Nooks versus The Miz." Phil replies, "You didn't answer my question though. Am I going with you to the ring to watch this match?" He stands next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulders.

I turn into him, "If you want. I'm only going to watch this fight because I have to do commentary." We start walking to the ring, smiling together. We get to the backstage ramp and see the boys. Alex is doing pushups and The Miz is doing shoulder stretches. As they see me, the both stop and Alex stands up. "Boys, have a good match tonight. I've heard that you two have a bit of a problem with each other." that last part is said teasingly. Alex gets it and smiles, while the Miz is left looking at me like I'm Daniel Bryan.

"You really think he stands a chance against me?" Mike sneers, "After I demolish him here tonight AND after I win this tournament, I'm coming for you and I'm going to make sure that you're in hell. That much I promise."

I shake my head, "Do you have anything to say to me, Al?"

"Nah. I'll, like, wait until after the match to say what I have to say. If I win, I win. And if I, like, don't we all know I didn't deserve to move on." Alex smiles.

I nod as my music hits, "_**AND IT'S JUST LIKE /THE OCEAN UNDER THE MOON/WELL THAT'S THE SAME/AS THE EMOTION THAT/I GET FROM YOU/YOU GOT THE KIND/OF LOVIN THAT COULD/BE SO SMOOTH SO/GIVE ME YOUR HEART/MAKE IT REAL/OR ELSE FORGET ABOUT IT**_..." I walk out to the ring and walk over to the commentators desk. Todd Grisham, the little perv, is checking me out. Matt Striker is a gentleman and pulls out my chair for me. I put on the headset and smile, "Well, hello esse's!"

"Lillie Belle Guerrero, joining us here on commentary," smiles Matt Striker, "alongside her handsome boyfriend C.M. Punk."

"How are you feeling about this tournament?" Todd Grisham asks, man he doesn't pull any punches. "I mean, after all you have not only friends but family wanting to fight you over that United States title." I adjust the title which I had grabbed before I left my room and tossed over my shoulder.

"Well, Todd esse, I just have to say that whoever the best man is will win this tournament. Be it familia or amigo's, I'll take them down. I did what I had to in order to get this title in the first place and now I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep it." I nod.

"_**STANDIN ON THE ROOFTOPS/WAIT UNTIL THE BOMB/DROPS THIS IS ALL/WE GOT NOW SCREAM/UNTIL YOUR HEART STOP/NEVER GONNA REGRET WATCHIN/EVERY SUNSET WE'LL LISTEN/TO YOUR HEART BEAT/ALL THE LOVE THAT WE FOUND**_..." Alex's theme song hits and I swear the cheers are all female. With the fans not being allowed to know about him and John Morrison being nothing more than tag team partners and best friends because Vince would fire them if he knew that they were gay together, every girl in the arena over the age of 18 must think she stands a chance with Alex. Hell, if I wasn't happily dating Phil and he wasn't as queer as a three dollar bill, I'd date him. He gets in the ring and smiles at the fans. In a way he reminds me a lot of Jeff Hardy when Jeff was just starting out. But in a way, he is undeniably being taught how to fight and how to pander to the fans by John Morrison.

"_**AWESOME I CAME TO/PLAY I CAME TO/PLAY THERE'S A PRICE/TO PAY TIME FOR YOU/TO GET DOWN ON/ YOUR KNEES AND PRAY/I CAME TO PLAY**_..." The Miz walks out and the fans start to hiss more than the reptile house at the zoo. He's not liked, especially not by people who love Alex so much. He doesn't pay any heed to them though just gets in the ring and sneers at me before looking at Alex. I'm so focused on the two of them that I don't hear Matt talking. And that's something hard to block out. Phil taps me on the shoulder, "Hey, Matt's asking you who you think's going to win."

I shake out of my daze but still focused on the events in front of me, "Well, it could go either way homes but personally I think Alex will win. I hope Alex wins, it's not surprise that he's a good friend of mine." Currently Alex is in control of the match up but that changes when The Miz manages to hit a low blow that the ref doesn't see. I shake my head, "Anyways, I hope Al wins. He's a good kid. But like I said before, he couldn't take the title away from me."

I'm not paying attention to the match that closely after that but somehow Alex manages to get back in control and when it gets time to either put up or shut up, those final moments where you either land a finisher and win a match or miss your finisher and fall short of victory, he manages to land an impressive flying kick to Mike's chest that looks like something out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's impressive and as he picks up the win, I can't help but be happy for him. Then I remember he's supposed to give a little speech as to my question earlier. "You know Lillie, backstage you asked me if I had anything to say to you. What I have to say to you is that even though I respect you and even though I am one of your closest friends, do not think for a second that if I win this tournament I'm going to take it easy on you. You'll get nothing but the best from me."

I take off the headset and stand up, taking a mic in my hand, "And trust me Alex, if you win I expect you to give me nothing but the best." His theme music plays again in triumph and I smile at him. Part of me hopes he wins. And the other part of me hopes he doesn't because honestly, if I have to fight Alex, I don't know if I can beat him.


	6. A Familia Dinner

Chapter Five: Dinner With La Familia

I get back to my locker room after sitting out there and smile at Phil, whose right behind me. "He did good out there. He's really developing," I smile as I start taking my hair down out of the french twist it's in. I hear my phone start ringing and I look at Phil, "Can you hand me that?" He does so and I answer, "Hola?"

"Lillie, it's me your mami." says the voice on the other end which I now know is mom.

"Hola mami! What are you up to?" I smiled as Phil walks over to me and starts rubbing my shoulders. He could tell that I was a bit tense out at the ring because he had taken my hand at one point. He always gives me a nice massage when he can tell I'm tense.

"Well, Chavo and I are going out to dinner tonight with...Adam," it sounds like she hesitates for a minute, not wanting to call Adam her father, "it's a familia dinner so we'd love it if you could be there. But please leave Phil behind. This is strictly familia."

I bite my cheek, not wanting to make a comment about Adam not really being a part of the familia and I managed to do so, "Sure mami. Where should I meet you guys?"

"We're just going to this little resteraunt right outside the airport, it's nice enough though so don't wear anything to casual. I'll see you when you get here. Love you baby." mami hangs up and I turn my head to look at Phil, "Mami want so have dinner but you can't go. It's a familia dinner, even if Adam's going to be there."

Phil sighs and licks his lips before saying, "Lillie...as much as I know you hate to admit it...Adam is a part of your family now. He married your mami and technically..." he see's the look I'm giving him, a look that clearly reads that if he doesn't shut up I'm not going to be very happy. Phil has a certain way of knowing what to say exactly at the right time or exactly at the wrong time. There is no inbetween with him. And that statement was definitly at the wrong time. Hell, there will never EVER be a right time for that comment. It's just to hard to think about. Papi's probably weeping everytime he hears about them up in heaven. He loved mami so much and he hated Adam. At least, I think he hated Adam. Hell, for all I know he and Adam could have been best friends. Fat chance of that actually being true.

"Sorry for the look Phil but I really, really don't want to ever have to face that fact," I sigh, "after what he did to me, how he treated me, what he told me mami still married him. I can't help but think that this is all just to get closer to me. I really do," I bitterly say. I turn to look him in the eyes and smile at him, "Phil...do you think we'll ever...y'know...get married?" That question has been on my mind ever since Phil gave me that promise ring months ago. I really do love him and I would give up anything to be in his life forever, even the title. I just hope he feels the same way.

His face flushes and he smiles, "Well...uh...y'see...I want to but I don't know if I'm ready yet..."

I nod, "It's okay if your not, I was just wondering." I try not to let him see my sadness on the inside. I really can't wait until I can have with Phil what Alex has with Johnny and what, supposedly at least, mami has with Adam. I smile, "Well, I should probably go."

He nods and kisses me, his tonuge ring tickling my bottom lip. He breaks the kiss and smiles, "Get outta here tiger."

I leave the arena and drive my corvette, yeah I've upgraded since I last talked to all of you, to the resteraunt that I'm supposed to be meeting them at. The first thing I notice when I walk in is that Chavo is in a suit. Chavo is never in a suit. It makes me laugh, "Hola guys." Adam isn't sitting with them, just Chavo in his monkey suit and mami in a cute black dress.

"Hola Lillie, cute dress." mami smiles.

"Thanks, I got it at Charolette Russe the last time Phil and I had an autograph signing at that mall back in Minnesota."I nod, "Chavo, I just have to say you look rediculous in that by the way."

"Eh, your just not use to seeing me dress up. Good job on commentary tonight by the way." he smiles. I don't know if he's being sarcastic or truthful. I can never tell that sort of stuff when it comes to Chavo and you think with as long as I lived with him I should be able to. I give him the look that tells him that I can't tell what he means and he laughs, "You did great, honest."

I smile and look at mami, "So, where's Adam?"

"He said he had to pick something up before he came here. He said to go ahead and order for him but order double because he was hungry. I told him that if he ate double what he normally eats here he's going to look like The Big Show." she laughs like it's the funniest thing she's ever heard. I have to admit, it's pretty witty. I smile and she continues, "Know what you want to drink yet?"

I look over the sodas and juices, ignoring the alcohol. "Um, I guess I'll have a Pepsi."

"Phil really has converted you hasn't he," Chavo laughs outloud, "the Lillie I use to know would definitly be getting the chardonay right about now. Especially on a night like tonight." That statement right there lets me know he's dreading Adam coming to. But he just doesn't understand my hatred for the elixir that changes your perception of the world. I shake my head and he continues, "I'll have a glass of chardonay to myself though Aunt Vickie."

Vickie nods, "And I know Adam's going to want beer and I know I want a glass of wine myself."

I sigh, not wanting to push my beliefs on them but suddenly feeling weird that I'm the only one not drinking. Usually I would have been right there alongside them. Well, before I was with Phil I would have been right alongside them. Now I know better and I know that you don't have to drink to make yourself feel good. But you can drink if you want, I won't stop you just like I'm not going to stop them. Anyways, I look over the menu of the resteraunt deciding on a plate of baked almond chicken. The picture looks delicious and if the actual thing is any bit as good as the real thing it's going to taste like heaven. Vickie orders a plate of pasta for herself and two burgers with a very large order of chili cheese fries for her stupid canadian husband. So here we're sitting talking over old times and stuff when a familiar voice says, "Hello gorgeous, Chavo, Lillie." I look behind me to see Edge and...oh no...Jack Swagger. He's wearing a suit and smiling.

"Honey who's this? I thought tonight was going to be only familia," Vickie says a bit upset.

"Well, it was supposed to be but I ran into Jack outside and the guys he was supposed to be with here tonight didn't show. I wanted him to get some food," smiles Adam. And in his eyes I can tell that he's lying. He wouldn't think that normally. He knows the guy, he knew the guy before tonight. I don't know how he knows him but he knows him. Adam catches me looking at him and smirks, "Lillie, I believe you know Jake. He's in the tournament to get your title."

I extend my hand with a smile on my face, "Nice to meet you Jack."

He ignores it and sits down next to Chavo, "So, Jack, I've seen you on ECW. You're pretty good."

Jack smirks, "I've seen you on Smackdown Chavo. I wish I could say you were good too but you're talent has gone down as your age has been going up."

Chavo looks at him, eyes narrowed. "Vickie, as soon as I eat, I have to go. I have things to do." he says, turning to talk to Aunt Vickie. Our food gets here and Chavo smiles, "Hope ya'lls food is good."

We start eating and, even though, I'm looking at my plate the fact that no one is talking and that I can feel Jake's eyes on me is unsettling. I wish Phil was here, he'd say something to break the silence. But no because of Adam, I'm sitting here at an awkward dinner with my familia and Adam Copeland and Jack Swagger. We finish eating and I look at Jack, "So, who do you fight first in the tournament?"

"I don't think it matters to you but I take on John Morrison Friday Night," smirks Jack. "And then, when I beat them and I get to move on to the finals, I'll face you and I'll beat you."

I give a poliet and highly sarcastic smirk, "Right." I shake my head and turn to mami and Chavo, "I have to get going. Phil's probably waiting up for me and if he doesn't get his sleep he gets cranky."

Mami nods and gives me a hug before I hug Chavo, "Have fun with your boy." Chavo smiles.

"Yes, oh and Lillie, I was thinking you could come home Sunday. Your mami and I feel bad not getting to talk to you all the time." Edge smiles, "And it's a special day Sunday."

"I'll try Adam," I respond softly. I leave the resteraunt and check the date for today on the phone, it's November 7th. That would make...I almost crush the phone in my hand. That would make Sunday the 13. November 13th, the date of my fathers death.


	7. A Life Well Ruined

Chapter Six: A Life Well Ruined

Smackdown. No matter what sort of week I'm having I can always look forward to being on Smackdown with fans cheering my name and children looking starry eyed as, some of them at least, realize what they want to do with the rest of their life. That's how I realized that I wanted to be a diva and of course because of who my father is. But that's not the point. In order to prove that I can be just as beautiful as I can be fierce, Vince has ordered that I fight Michelle McCool and Layla in a lingerie pillow fight. I deplore these types of matches. I swore before I got here that I would never, ever become eye candy and it seems as if tonight that vow is going to be broken. Even worse is that I haven't had Phil to talk about it all day because Phil hasn't been around. I don't know where he's been but it's not been here and I always seem to get sad when he's not around here to talk to. I shake my head. I can't think about that at the moment. I have to do what I do best, I have to go out to the ring and give my opponent the fight of their life, or in this case at least, give them the pillow fight of their lives.

I'm looking at the choice of lingerie that I saw at the store and bought. I looked at it from the point of view of if I didn't use all of them, I'd at least use one and I'd get to wear the rest for Philly. One set is a blue tank top looking thing with a matching set of blue boyshorts, one is a tight red camisole with black boyshorts but you can't see the boyshorts because the camisole is so long, and the last is a cute black camisole without straps and with the straight edged society emblem on the front that cuts off at my midriff acommpanied by a cute pair of black boyshorts with white lace at the top. I go for the black one. I change into the costume and hear a knock on the door, walking over and opening it to see Alberto staring at me. His eyes grow wide and he says, "Lillie! I...I didn't know you were busy..."

I laugh, "It's okay Alberto. I have a lingerie pillowfight and the crowd's going to see me in this. C'mon in." I turn and walk to the mirror, smiling at him, "So what did you need?"

"I...uh...well..." Alberto looks away from me and shakes his head, "I was wonderin if we could talk before the show."

I smile, nodding. "Sure." There's an awkward silence between us and I gesture for a seat, "Anything in particular you want to talk about I ask," sitting next to him.

"You look great," he smirks, "really great."

I laugh, "Thanks Alberto. You always did know how to make me feel good. Remember when we were younger and we actually use to argue about who was better at wrestling. You always insisted I was but then you would go out into that ring, do something that would blow my fight out of the water, and when I would tell you how awesome you were you would say not as good as you."

Alberto laughs and runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah. And it's true. I mean, look, you became the first female U.S. champion. I can't ever make history."

"Hey, don't feel bad, you could always become the first male diva's champion," I tease.

He laughs and another silence passes between us. Finally I break it by saying, "So...do you have a match tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm fighting Dolph Ziggler. Should prove to be pretty easy." he says and looks at me. I didn't realize until now how close together we are sitting. What happens next happens in a blur, he reaches out for me and wraps his arm around my waist, kissing my lips gently. I hear the door open and I just know whose standing there.

"Maybe I should come back later," Phil says. I tug out of Alberto's grasp and look at Phil.

"It's not what it looks like baby," I plead, seeing the sadness and anger in his eyes.

"Its okay Lillie. You two were grew up together, you two know more about each other than I know about you obvisouly because I bet he knew about the cutting thing," i almost feel like that's a low blow but Phil continues, "Just do me a favor next time and tell me before I walk in on it. I had heard rumors about you two having a thing and now I guess it's true."

I shake my head, "It's not...Alberto...I..."

Phil shakes his head and fishes a small black box out of his pocket and tosses it to me, "Hope you like it. I was plannin on givin' it to you after the match tonight when I asked you to...well...I guess it doesn't matter anymore does it?"

The tears are welling up in my eyes as I open the box and see a gorgeous ring sitting inside of it. He was going to ask me to marry him. "Phil, please, it wasn't..." I look up but he's already gone. I turn hatefully to Alberto, "How could you! I loved that man ever since I met him and you just ruined the best relationship I ever had!" I scream at him.

"I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened," Alberto says defensivly.

"Yeah right, I saw the way you looked at me when you came in here! I should have told you then that I didn't want you in here but me believing that a man and a woman could just be friends, especially when two people have known each other as long as we have, I let you stay! God, why did I even be nice to you on your first night here after not seeing you for years!" I slam my locker room door open and say vehemently, "Get the hell out of my room."

He looks at me as he passes, "Maybe the old friend I had really is long gone." He walks out and I collapse against the door, the box held close to my chest. He was going to propose to me and it's all ruined because of a kiss. I close my eyes, slipping the ring out of the box and reading the inscription on it: P.B. + L.G. Phil Brooks and Lillie Guerrero. I hold my hand close to my heart, my eyes still closed. Here's hoping that our relationship can be repaired.


	8. Talking With A Forgotten Friend

Chapter Seven: Talking With A Forgotten Friend

Since Phil's outburst at me two nights ago, I've pretty much stayed by myself on the Guerrero property. Phil hasn't called, hasn't left me a message. I can't seem to place it but in a way I feel as if I deserve this. I should have been able to see the sings of Alberto having a crush on me, especially in that outfit. I shouldn't have let him in the room but I couldn't help it. He was there and I wanted someone to talk to and I thought that he, being one of my oldest friends, would listen to me. Obviously that wasn't the case.

I'm sitting out on the back deck of the house, looking out over the lake behind me. It's really a shame that I can't seem to want to part with this place. I should be out on my own now, living in a place just as nice as this but I'm not. I'm leaving in the house that papi and mami raised me in. I guess it's sort of become mine now with mami practically living in Canada with Adam. While that should bother me...it doesn't. Well, the fact that she's spending time with Adam, even if he is her husband, bothers me just not being alone. I was alone for a while after Dave left the WWE and I've learned how to cope with that. It's not to hard to do. The glimmer of the pale moonlight alerts me to what time it is and I head inside. I should probably get some sleep. I already talked to Vince and I don't have any house shows or autograph opportunities this week. I just have to be on Smackdown Friday, which gives me an entire week off.

I walk into my room and lay on the bed, grabbing the picture of Phil, Luke, Serena, and I when we went to Disneyworld together off of the beside table and stare at it. We were such a good set of friends then. And Phil...Phil and I didn't have this problem. Hell, I don't even know if there is such a thing as Phil and I anymore. And why? All because I seem to attract the wrong sort of guy. But I'm holding up well. I only cry myself to sleep, I never revert to drinking or...or cutting. I just can't see why he didn't believe me. Wasn't I supposed to be good enough for him? To be his forever? I lay the picture down on the beside table once again and I begin to fidget with my promise ring. The ring he gave me, the ring that was supposed to be our engagement ring that is, has been tucked away in a drawer so that I don't have to look at it and be reminded of what I could have had. The love of my life left me and I don't know what to do. Curling up underneath my blanket I find myself drifting off into a deep sleep.

_ I'm standing in the middle of a locker room looking area that is all to familiar. There's a plain wooden bench accompanied by a red locker and some house plants on a table. The walls are lined with pictures from car magazines and cute young women. There's something familiar about this place but I don't remember where I've seen it. Then I hear someone behind me say, "Look's like you've had a lot of trouble lately, princessa." I turn to see my dad, Eddie Guerrero, sitting there smiling at me and looking like he's suited up for a match. _

_ "Papi!" I say hugging him. He wraps his arms around me and I say, "I miss you."_

_ "I miss you to bambino," he says. He lets go of me and pats the bench next to him. "We need to talk okay?"_

_ I sit down and for some reason, the first thing I blurt out is, "I didn't want mami to marry Adam! I tried telling her that it wasn't right to your memory but she just wouldn't listen!"_

_ Eddie chuckles, "That will work itself out. Your mami thinks she's in love with Adam and for the moment, it's best to let them live like a happy couple. That's not what we need to talk about. We need to talk about you and this boy."_

_ My eyes tear up and I nod, "Phil you mean."_

_ "I've seen the boy in training and he's a good fighter," Eddie says, "but not all good fighters are good men. And not all good men are good fighters. It's really rare that you meet someone who is both. And this Phil boy, he's both. He didn't mean to get mad at you, infact, I'm pretty sure he's feeling the same way that you feel right now." His hand is on my shoulder and I nod smally. _

_ "But papi, if he loves me so much why doesn't he call or text me?" I ask, sounding sad._

_ "That can go both ways bambino," he replies softly, "maybe you should try calling him or texting him when you wake up in the morning." I can see something in his face that I never saw when he was alive. It's almost as if every age line is darkened, as if he were troubled and not willing to talk about it. _

_ "Papi...I don't blame you or mami for not telling me sooner that I was a Mysterio," I reply. _

_ He laughs, "Don't lie. You were furious when you found out that you were Rey's daughter and that your mami and I didn't tell you. But I don't blame you. I suppose if I found out I wasn't Gory Guerrero's son I'd have a hard time with that too." _

_ I nod, unsure of what to say. "And...and Dave..."_

_ He laughs, "The relationship between you and Dave was meant to lead you into this relationship. All your relationships with everyone are to make you stronger, to teach you something that you didn't know about yourself. Phil is the one for you, trust me when I say that. He'll come around, you just have to give him time." He kisses my temple before standing up, the sound of his theme song ringing in my ears, "I love you baby but I have to go. I have a match against Owen Hart and I think that's him on the phone right now."_

_ "Daddy don't leave me! I don't want to be without you anymore papi," I shout out, crying._

_ He turns and looks at me and for the first time since we started talking, I see the tears in his eyes. "Bambino I have to. But always remember this," he walks back over to me and puts a hand on my heart, "whenever you need to talk to someone, whenever you need a friend I will be right here. I'm always with you guiding you through what you need. I'm with you in your heart and in your blood because you are a Guerrero."_

I wake up with a start to hear my cell phone ringing. I grope blindly in the dark for it and answer, "Hola?"

"Lillie," come's the recognizable voice of Luke Gallows, "it's Phil...there's been an accident."

**AS YOU CAN PROBABLY FIGURE, THE PART IN ITALICS WAS A DREAM. LIKE THE STORY, HAVE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO SEE ADDED? JUST REVIEW AND I'LL TRY TO GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS I CAN!**


	9. By His Side

Chapter Eight: By His Side

I hold the phone in my hands, unsure of what to say. "What...what do you mean there's been an accident?"

Luke's voice, which I can now place the emotion as sadness, waivers as he said, "Phil and I were supposed to go out for dinner tonight and I went by his place to pick him up. I got to his room and the door was unlocked. You know Phil never leaves the door unlocked. So I went in. Lillie, he was attacked. He's in a bad shape. I know you two aren't together for the time being but..."

"Where is he?" I ask, trying to keep my voice calm but the sadness leaking out. My eyes are waterlogged and I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"I sent Serena to pick you up," Luke says, "she told me to call you first though to let you know. Look, I have to go. I'll see you when you get here." He hangs up and I get out of bed quickly, changing into a black hoodie and black sweatpants. I can't believe what Luke told me. Phil...hurt...I can't believe... I shake my head and hear a car pull up outside. I look at Serena who is sitting in the front seat. Her mascara looks like it has been ruined so I can tell she's been crying. I get into the car and then remember, "Wait...can you wait?"

Serena nods, "The hospital isn't to far away from here." I run back inside and grab the ring out of the drawer. I want to have it just...just in case. I get back in the car and put a hand on Serena's shoulder, "You'll be okay. I'm sure Phil...Phil's gonna make it."

"How do you know? He was hurt pretty bad..." Serena says softly, I can tell there's something in her voice. I connect two and two together.

"Before you and Luke were together and before I was with Phil...you liked him didn't you?" I ask with a smile. She blushes and I laugh, "Don't feel like that. If you liked him, you liked him. I can't stop how two people feel about each other."

"Yeah, I had a crush on Philly. He was the whole reason I got into the WWE anyways. Much like he saved you from alcohol, he saved me." Serena replies, "And as for love, Phil called Luke and I and told us that he saw you kissing Alberto Del Rio. How could you hurt Phil like that?"

"How could I hurt Phil like that? I didn't kiss him back! I invited Alberto in before my lingerie pillowfight because we were friends growing up. He just sorta kissed me and Phil walked in," I cry. "I never meant for that to happen. I never meant for him to be so upset with me! Dammit I never meant to lose him!"

Serena frowns, "I'm sorry Lillie. I...I should have thought things through."

I nod, whiping my eyes, "It's okay. I just...I never wanted Phil and I to be brought down to this. How can I expect anything to get better between the two of us if...if he doesn't..."

Serena cuts me off, "Hey, don't think like that. It's kinda late so why don't you take a nap. I'll wake you when we get to the hospital."

I nod and curl into a ball in the passangers seat the best that I can. I'm terrified of what's going to happen. I finally manage to fall asleep and what seems like a short while later, Serena is shaking me awake. I turn to look at her, "We're here?"

"Yeah," Serena sighs. She parks the car and the two of us walk briskly to the front doors. Luke and Joey are waiting for us in the waiting room and I look at them, worried.

"We thought we'd stay out here to wait for you and take you back," Luke says. He wraps an arm around Serena and leads us back to where Phil is. He's laying there, hooked up to so many machines that my heart stops cold. I put my hand on the glass that seperates us from where he's at. What sort of heartless monster could have done this to him? Could have attacked Philly so harshly that he ended up like this?

The tears run down my face and I say, "He proposed to me...he proposed to me and caught Alberto kissing me and he got so mad. I didn't want Alberto to kiss me."

Luke puts a comforting hand on my shoulder, "It'll be okay, he'll be okay. I mean, it's Phil...he has to be okay." For once I can sense an emotion in Luke's voice that I've never heard the big guy produce before. It's fear. He's trying to cheer me up, this I know. But every fear soaked word he lets out only scares me even more. Phil has to be okay. I mean, he's my hero and whens the last time a hero died. Well, Braveheart...and Titanic...and... I can't let myself think like this. I can't let them see me down. The doctor walks out of the room and smiles at us.

"Are you all here to see Mr. Brooks? I'm Doctor Albreight." he extends his hand and I shake it.

"Yes, I'm Lillie. His...his girlfriend," I reply, softly. How I wish I could actually say that I was his fiance.

"Well, only one person at a time is allowed back there right now. He's in a very serious condition." Dr. Albreight says, looking at us meaningfully. "He was attacked with some sort of object and has suffered temporal lobe damage as well as a few broken ribs, a broken leg, and a broken nose."

"You said temporal lobe damage. What does that mean?" I ask.

"Well, he will have a hard time with memories. There are things that he may never remember and things that he may remember. All we can do is wait and see what happens." Doctor Albreight says to me very cooly and calmly.

My heart breaks, "He'll...he'll remember me won't he?"

"There is a possibility he won't but then again, there is a possibility that he will. Now, if you excuse me I have other patients to get to." Doctor Albreight walks off and I'm still standing there but it's only until Luke speaks up that I remember he, Serena, and Joey are there.

"Do you want to go in Lillie? Serena, Joey, and I can always wait it out. Can't we?" Luke smiles, patting my back.

Joey nods, "Right. Let's go get some coffee or something." They walk off and I enter Phil's room. I pull a chair up close to the bed and take Phil's hand in mine. I won't ever let him go. If he dies...I go with him. If this would have happened to Dave it probably would have scared me off but it happening to Phil has made me realize that relationships like this, where you truly love the other person, are hard to come by. And whoever tried to hurt Phil, they better pray to whatever God they believe in because if I catch them, only their religion is going to save them. I'll make damn sure of that.


	10. A Change In Character

Chapter Nine: A Change In Character

For the past four days, not including the earlier part of today of course, I've sat at Phil's side hoping that he'd wake from the coma he's in and yet I get nothing. They say his heartbeat and brain activity are normal, he's just in a deep sleep that not even a kiss from the truest of loves could wake him up from. Going through this with him has given me a new perspective on life. Whoever did this isn't going to have to deal with the old Lillie, oh no, their going to have to deal with a new Lillie. She's not the loveable Latina like they use to know. She's a lot worse and all because they attacked the love of her life. Listen to me, rambling on and on in third person. But it's true. The world is going to have to deal with a new Lillie.

I walk through the halls of Smackdown, people looking at me and whispering things. Any one of them could have done it. "Hey Lillie," John Morrison says to me sympathetically. Even John could have done it. He certainly has motivation. Maybe he thought that getting rid of Phil would put me in an emotional state of dischord and choas that I wouldn't be able to get out of. He was wrong, if he did it. I won't let him get to me.

"What do you want?" I ask coldly.

"I was just checking on you. I mean, everyone heard what happened to Phil." John replies sadly putting a hand on my shoulder.

I shrug out of his grasp and sneer at him, "Why because you bragged about it to everyone? Don't think I'm daft and don't think I don't suspect you or your little 'husband' Alex. Either one of you could have done it to make sure that I was out emotionally to not be able to prepare for when this tournament gets over with. But I'm not going to break. And so help me god, if it was you or Alex who did it, I'll make sure that Vince knows all about what you two like to do back at the hotel room. Try winning the tournament with him knowing that, hell, try keeping your job with him knowing that. You'll never work in the WWE again and you'll be damn lucky if TNA takes you. But then again, they like boys like you and Al over there don't they." If I had been in the right frame of mind, I wouldn't have said that. But I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind. I dont' think I'll ever be in the right frame of mind until Philly comes back.

"Kid, whats wrong with you?" John asks aghast. I can see fear and hatred both in his eyes, at the same time sympathy and friendship trying to combat them. He doesn't know if he should be mad at me for that comment or if this is just a part of my coping mechanism. And for a split second I don't blame him. What I said was harsh, rough even. But I can't let him know that I didn't mean it. If he is the one who attacked Philly, he has to know that I mean business.

"Whats wrong with me? Oh I dunno esse, maybe it's the fact that the man of my dreams is laying in a hospital bed in Los Angeles possibly dying because some prick decided to beat his brains in! Maybe it's the fact that I have to deal with traitorous best friends like you and Alex who wanted nothing more than to get my title!" I shout at him, getting closer. I'm a few inches shorter than John and I have to look up to look him in the eyes and try to be menacing. It just doesn't work that way.

"I only agreed because Vince said it would make for damn good television! I know your a better fighter than me and I know that if any of us has the chance of walking away from Night Of Champions as the champion, out of everybody in this damn tournament, it's you!" John screams back, "As for Phil, I'm sorry but I had nothing to do with that and I don't know who the hell does!"

Alex hears the two of us screaming at each other and seperates us, "Woah, guys, friends shouldn't fight like this!"

"Friends! You really think we're friends! After you two were put in this tournament and after that little speech you gave after you beat John's former lover the Miz," there's a shocked look in Alex's eyes and he looks between me and John, "oh so he didn't tell you about how he dated The Miz? Of course he didn't tell me, I just sort of figured it out form watching the two when they would tag team together."

Alex looks at John and says softly, "Is it the truth?"

John gulps, "Yeah baby, yeah it is."

Instead of being sad and running off, Alex turns to me with and almost feral look in his eyes. "Look here, just because someone ruined the best relationship you ever had doesn't mean that you have to ruin someone elses!"

"It's not ruined! Now if you two lame brains will excuse me, I have to be out in the ring to address the matter at hand." I growl and head out to the ring. My theme music starts and the fans are cheering, until they see the look on my face. Let me tell you one thing, the only thing worse than a crowd that boos you is a crowd that is completely silent. You know there's trouble when a crowd is completely silent. Like right now. I roll into the ring and forcefully grab the microphone that ring announcer Tony Chimel is holding and look at the audience. "It's come to my attention that all of you, or at least some of you, have heard about what happened to my boyfriend Phil Brooks. As tragic as that is and as sad as I am over it, I'm even more upset at whoever did it. I know you all in the back can hear me and I know you all are listening intently. I don't give a damn who did it, be it Kane or Rey Mysterio or, hell, even the backstage technicians. I've got my eye on all of you and I want you all to know that the Lillie Belle Guerreo you know and love is gone and a darker Lillie Belle has taken her place. A Lillie Belle that won't stop until she's gotten to the bottom of this."

"_**BOOYAKA BOOYAKA 619/BOOYAKA BOOYAKA THAT'S MY PUEBLO/BOOYAKA BOOYAKA 619/BOOYAKA BOOYAKA REY MYSTERIO**_..." I turn to look at the entrance ramp to see Rey heading down towards me in his ring gear. He's scheduled to fight against Luke tonight but I don't know why he's out here now. That match isn't supposed to be until later. He gets in the ring and frowns, "Lillie, esse, what's happened to you? I understand Phil was attacked but that doesn't mean that you have to turn out like this. I mean you remind me of..."

"Remind you of what, my dad?" I ask, coldly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you do remind me of Eddie. About the time when we started fueding over Dominic." Rey says softly, trying to play the role of mature adult.

"Well maybe that's a good thing, they always did say that was a highlight of my fathers career. Maybe turning on you and the rest of my friends is what I need," I sneer back at him, the look in his eyes starting to be one of hatred.

"Look, we didn't attack Phil! Maybe someone back there did or maybe it was a rabid fan. Either way you don't need to start in on your friends and familia," Rey says, stepping up closer to me.

In a brash move, I push him away from me with a hard shove and he stumbles back. "Maybe it's exactly what I need." I throw the mic down and start to head out of the ring but he grabs my arm to stop me. I turn and push him away again. The fans are booing and the tech crew is looking stunned. This isn't what they expected.

My theme starts and I head backstage, a voice stopping me dead in my track. "You reminded me of someone else out there."

I turn to see Adam leaning against the wall in a pair of jeans, one of his throwback Rated R superstar shirts, and a rated r beanie. "Oh, and who did I remind you of out there?"

"You reminded me of me." Adam smiles, clapping a hand to my back. "I'll try and help you figure out who did this to you and if anyone get's in your way, I'll help you take them out." There is something sincere and soft in his voice. I should suspect him of doing it...but I don't.

"Thanks..." I nod softly, looking away. "I have to get to my room but...uh...well...I'll see you sometime." I turn and walk away. Maybe when you're in a place like I am, the best people to trust are your enemies and the worst people to trust are your friends.


	11. The Violence Begins

Chapter Ten: The Violence Begins

**I HAVE INCLUDED PICTURES OF LILLIE'S RING GEAR FOR HER MATCH**

**SHIRT- ****.com/grafic/products/111525_**

**WRESTLING TIGHTS- ****.com/upload/20103/90//productimg1269328468915.**

**WRESTLING BOOTS- ****.**

Yesterday was the first televised show that I had been to since Phil's hospitalization. Sure I acted different but afterwords I still signed autographs and took pictures with the fans, even if the only thought running through my mind at the time was which one of them could have attacked my Philly. But today is different. Tonight I have a house show and I have to fight against Trent Baretta of The Dudebusters. But right now, I'm sitting at Phil's side. More than one of us are allowed back here now so Luke, Joey, and Serena are in the room with me. I'm holding his hand and Joey speaks up, "I...I know I'm the new guy and...and I don't know Phil as well as the rest of you guys do but...but meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me. Before I met him I was into some pretty heavy shit and he helped me out of it. Said that he thought I could be better than I was."

"We were all in dark places when Phil found us. I was addicted to prescription pills, Serena and Lillie were both alcoholics," Luke says. "And besides, now isn't the time for one of those sad speeches. He's going to make it out of this." Out of all three of them, Luke is the one I suspect the least even if he's in the tournament to get my championship. He's always been Phil's best friend. They would tell each other everything. He wouldn't want his best friend to die. At least, I know that I wouldn't want my best friend to die.

I look up at them, "Luke's right. Besides, Joey, you have a match tonight against Edge that I'd be getting ready for if I were you."

Luke looks at me, "That's another thing. I saw you talking to Adam backstage after your run in with Rey. You didn't get mad at him like you usually do. Please tell me you think that he's a suspect."

I bite my lower lip, "I'm not ruling anyone out but...well...there was something about the way he looked at me when he said to me what he said...he was truthful..."

Serena interjects, "Or at least acting like it. We all know there's a high possibility that Adam could have done it. I mean, look what he had to gain. He's got a rookie star he's helping to make a big name for himself who is in the tournament for your title and your dating Phil. Plus there's the fact that he hates you."

I sigh, "Your probably right but I want to give him the benefit of a doubt. I mean, since he married Vickie he's been trying to act like a surrogate father. Even if he'll never fill Eddie's shoes, or Rey's for that matter, he's at least trying. At the first sign of danger, I'll turn on him." Joey mumbles something under his breath and I turn to him, a venom in my eyes, "What was that Mercury?"

"I said, if you're that willing to turn on someone what's to say that you won't turn on your other friends for him?" Joey says, looking me in the eyes.

Luke steps between the two of us, "That's enough. Joey, you don't need to make comments like that. And Lillie, you've been awfully angry all the time. You can simmer down. It's okay."

I shake my head, "I have to go. I'm first up tonight actually."

I arrive at the arena from being at the hospital, still worried about Phil. I get backstage where everybody who sees me turns away and doesn't look at me. I smile at Alex and John and even they turn away from me. I know I was cold to them and I know I was high strung but...well...it was expected right? I don't need them thought. I don't need anyone! Except...except Phil... I need him. I walk into my locker room where I plop down onto my bench and run my hands through my hair. I can see that I've started to ruin my life but...but I have to. I can't sleep at night because I'm so afraid that I won't hear the phone ring and something will have happened to Phil. I'm worried all the time about someone hurting me like they hurt Phil. I'll be the first to admit, I'm paranoid. But it shouldn't be effecting my friendships and relationships. I mean, god, the look that Rey gave me in the hall was heartbreaking. I remember seeing that look from Rey once before: when Eddie threatened to take his son Dominic. He's not even really Eddie's son, it was a plot cooked up by Rey and Eddie to get more ratings. Can you believe that? Here I am the walking, talking embodiment of the argument that they had in the first place and they used Dominic. Well, I don't care anymore. I don't care if I'm a Mysterio by birth and a Guerrero by nature. Dammit, they want a Guerrero then I can give them the true spirit of a Guerrero. I'm going to make sure that tonight, against Trent Baretta, they see how much of a sneak and a cheater I can be. And goddamit the fans are going to love it.

I change into my ring outfit for the night: a black tank top, black wrestling tights with a gold design, and gold wrestling boots with a gold design. I fling my title over my shoulder and put my hair up in a side ponytail. Looking myself in the mirror, I can barely recognize the person staring back at me. I've changed from my original wrestling "persona" I guess you can say and I sort of like it. Not everyone can always be a good guy. Sometimes it takes a bad guy to touch the world the most. I believe it was my cousin Chavo who said about Eddie, "even when he didn't want the crowd to like him, they did". That's what I hope for. I'm going to be as mean and nasty as they come to teach the world that they need someone like me. They need someone who isn't afraid to open her heart to the world and show them what they need. They need me almost as much as I need them. I nod before opening my door and walk out to the entrance ramp. Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft are both back there. For those of you who aren't to in tune with who the "magnificent Dudebusters" are, let me give you a run down. You have Trent Baretta who looks like he belongs on the cast of Jersey Shore more than he looks like he belongs in the WWE. He has black hair that reaches his tanned shoulder, which are bare because he nor Caylen believe in wearing a shirt backstage, and two brown eyes that make him look like he's full of shit. Which he is. His wrestling tights are black with blue stripes that make his lower half look as though they were designed by a blind gay man who just said, "hey, this looks almost as good as your actual wrestling skills." Anyone else catch the joke? Anyways, that's Trent Baretta. Caylen Croft is actually a bit better, but not much. At least he doesn't look like he belongs on the set of Jersey Shore. His hair is cut short with side burns on the side of his face like a 90's reject and his eyes are the same color of "full of shit brown". His wrestling gear, I kid you not, is the EXACT same design as his tag team partners only in the color yellow. The only bad thing is, as much as they are in tune with each others wrestling gear, that's how much they are in tune when the other one needs help in the ring. If I plan on taking Trent Baretta on, I need to plan on taking on Caylen Croft as well.

_**"AND IT'S JUST LIKE/THE OCEAN UNDER THE/MOON WELL THAT'S THE/SAME AS THE EMOTION/THAT I GET FROM YOU/YOU GOT THE KIND OF/LOVIN' THAT CAN BE SO/SMOOTH SO GIVE ME/YOU'RE HEART MAKE IT/REAL OR ELSE FORGET/ABOUT IT**_..." my theme song starts. I walk out to the ring, fans cheering but sounding rather reluctant. I can hear a bit of boos. I guess when you can cheer against me or Trent Baretta, I'm a no brainer. Trent's a bit of an idiot. I get to the ring and I can see the signs the fans are holding up and the one that catches my eye is one that says, "LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER" and has a picture of Eddie pushing Rey on one side and a picture of me pushing Rey on the other. I smirk at that. It's true, it's damn true. The generic rock music theme song of Trent Baretta's starts and he and Caylen come out looking pepped up for anything. The look on their faces actually makes me laugh out loud but I'm not supposed to do that, it might encourage him. They get in the ring and I smile as they do some complicated high five and Caylen steps out of the ring. I hand my title to the ref who hands it to the guy on the side. I look back at Trent and the ref rings the bell. I immediatly go for the lock up and get the upper hand. I toss Trent into the corner and manage to get him to stay there. I chop him across the chest a few times and he's already in pain. Pathetic. I back up to let him catch his breath before running to hit him with a hard shoulder to the gut. He moves out of the way and I hit the turnbuckle. Ouch.

Trent smirks at me and does some sort of complicated taunt with his hands, akin to the version 2.0 thing that Matt Hardy used to do, before climbing up onto the second rope and mokey flipping me. I fall with my back hard on the mat and I let out a scream of pain. Bad idea. Trent starts kicking me in the stomach over and over and over again until the ref tears him away from me. I roll onto my hands and knees and he sends a running kick into my stomach. I fall with my face on the mat again and Trent goes for an arm bar. I reach out and grab the ropes, forcing him to let go of the hold. Thankfully when he back up and comes back toward me, I flip onto my back and I'm able to catch him in the gut with my foot. He stumbles backwards and I get up. My feet are towards the ropes and what else should happen but Caylen Croft grabs my feet. The ref starts yelling at Caylen which leaves Trent to land a low blow to me. Now, it may not be exactly the same as kicking a man in the nuts but when you hit a woman in her area down there it hurts like hell. I fall to my knee's and the ref turns back to look at me. He obviously doesn't see foul play and continues on with the match. Trent locks me in a headlock and I land an elbow in his side. He loosens the grip. I have one shot to do what I want to do. I push Trent into the ropes and as he bounces back, I move out of the way. That leaves him to run right into the ref. Caylen exlaims something outside of the ring and runs to get a steel chair. Perfect. I wait for him to get into the ring and for Trent to get back up. I move so where my back is to Trent and my front is to Caylen so I look petrified of him coming towards me with that chair. And right as he's about to hit me with it, I move out of the way and he smacks Trent. Trent goes down and I laugh as I tap Caylen on the shoulders, who let go of the chair almost immediatly as he hit his partner with it. He turns around and I hit him with a standing dropkick. I roll him out of the ring and shake the ref who is coming to, making sure to throw the chair out of the ring. I cover Trent and the ref counts, 1! 2! 3!

My theme music starts playing and I head back to the locker room area. The perfect ending to an excellent evening. Now if only Phil were here to share it with me.


	12. An Alibi For All Occasions

Chapter Eleven: An Alibi For All Occasions

**SINCE THE FIRST STORY IN THE SERIES HAD A CHAPTER THAT WASN'T IN LILLIE'S P.O.V I THOUGHT IT WOULD ONLY BE FAIR IF I DID ANOTHER ONE THAT WASN'T IN LILLIE'S P.O.V! WELL, THE MAIN PART IS IN LILLIE'S P.O.V BUT, WELL, YOU'LL SEE! OH AND I DECIDED TO SHOW WHAT LILLIE WAS WEARING AGAIN SO HERE IT IT**

**DRESS- ****.?productId=4375954&cp=4078198.4192312.4234500**

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**PURSE- ****.?productId=4107425&cp=4241184.4240804**

**SHOES- ****.?productId=3995694&cp=4238904.4446601**

When I got out of my hotel room this wonderful Saturday morning I saw a note that said, "Meet me at Emirl's Resteraunt, 7:00 sharp. Tell the hostess your a guest of Mr. Gutierez's." There was nothing else, just that sweet little note. I was half afraid not to do it but over the course of my boring, uneventful day I decided it might be worth checking into. That's why I'm currently dressed to the nine's in something that I picked up last minute at a very nice shop. All except the necklace that is. It's not a very expensive necklace but my father got me it for my birthday one year and I always have it with me, even if I'm not wearing it. It's a little flower pin. A Lillie for his Lillie he said once when I was little. I have always liked it since then. These killer heels that I'm wearing and haven't had a chance to break in yet, not so much. The hostess leads me to the very back of the resteraunt where I'm greeted with the sight of Rey, Alex, John, Joey, Serena, and Luke sitting there in their best suits and Serena in a very nice black dress looking very serious. I attempt to leave but Luke stops me, "We need to talk."

I shake my head and sigh heavily as I sit down at the table, "What about? I thought you all hated me?"

"Trust me, some of us aren't here by choice," Alex huffs and is instantly shot a cold look by Rey. He must have set this all up.

"Lillie, lately...and god help me for saying this...you've been a real bitch to each of us. We know that it has to hurt, seeing Phil broken and beaten like that and being so helpless that you can't do anything about it. But you have to stop questioning all your friends. None of us did it, we promise." Rey sighs.

"No, no you don't understand Rey! You will never understand what it's like until the one you love is close to the brink of death and there is nothing that you can say or do to help them," I say, trying not to tear up. I can't hold back my tears though I'm sure they can tell I'm not as strong as I look. "You don't know what it's like to be at their bedside and hold their hand, hoping they come back to you but at the same time knowing that if they do come back to you, they might not remember who you are."

"That's the thing though Lillie," Serena says to me, "your not the only one with something to lose. Your not the only one who sits at his bedside wondering if he'll live to see tomorrow. You get to work. I get to sit there while you, Luke, and Joey are at work and be the one that if something does happen and he doesn't wake up, has to call the others and tell them. You get to escape, the only escape I get is when I go to my house to shower and change."

I sit there, biting my lower lip, "You all should have great alibi's then. C'mon lets here them esse. Rey, since you seem to have organized this little field trip why don't you go first."

_-Rey's p.o.v-_

_ "Angie, are you ready or not?" I called upstairs as my beautiful wife got ready to go out. It was one of my rare nights home and I wasn't going to screw up and not get to spend time with my familia. Dominic and Aalyah had wanted to go to a movie and Angie and I had agreed. I was currently downstairs with Dominick who was watching some show on Cartoon Network called Adventure Time with Finn and Jake. If you've ever seen that show and have children then you know how sucked in they can get. Aalyah was playing with one of her many dolls and walked over to sit on the couch next to me. "What is it bambino?"_

_ "Will you play dollies with me?" Aalyah asked smiling._

_ I smiled, "Honey, as soon as your mommy comes down here we're going to the movies remember." She gave me that look that told me she was going to cry and I said, "But I think we have time to play for a little bit."_

_ She smiled and handed me a Ken doll, "His name is Chris. You get to be Chris. I get to be Lillie."_

_ I laughed, "Lillie? As in your cousin Lillie?"_

_ Aalyah nodded, "Yes! She's my favorite. That's why I named my dollie Lillie." We played for a while until Aalyah smiled, "Mommie's waiting for us."_

_ I turned to see Angie standing at the stairs, her hair in an updo and wearing a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. Even in just that she was my splendid darling and I couldn't help but love her. I will always love Angie. "You ready to go now?" She nodded and we turned off the t.v. and the kids ran out to the car._

_ "So, when do I get to tell the guys at work you were playing with dollies?" Angie laughed as I wrapped an arm around her and walked out to the car._

_ "Hey, I was playing with my daughter." I laughed back._

_ "Speaking of daughters have you talked to Lillie lately?" Angie asked._

_ "No, no I haven't. I'll call her later. Right now, I want to spend time with people I don't see during work. That being you and Aalyah and Dominic." I smiled back. We got in the car and went to the movies._

_-end of Rey's p.o.v-_

"After the movie is when I got the call," Rey says softly to me, "but I swear and you can even talk to Angie that we went to the movie. I was so upset when I heard and I figured you didn't want to be interupted when you were with him so I figured I wouldn't call. I wanted to talk to you last Friday but-"

"So you have an alibi Rey," I interrupt. I look at John and Alex, "Well, do you two have a solid alibi?"

"As a matter of fact, Lillie," Alex accents my name with spite and malice so I can tell he's not to happy at me, "we do have an alibi."

_-Alex's p.o.v-_

_ "John, do we really have to be here! This place totally weirds me out!" I said as John and I sat in the car to go one of the last places on Earth any one in their right mind would go: Cameron, North Carolina. John and Matt had been hanging out a lot together recently and that would have worried me if Matt wasn't in a committed relationship with Shannon Moore and John wasn't so devoted to me. He even lets me know when he's going to go to the bathroom. He's perfect. Anyways, that's neither here nor there. John had decided that it would be a good idea if Matt and I got to know each other better so he had dragged me out to Cameron for a day of fun with Matt and his little brother Jeff. There's only one little problem, I'm not comfortable out in the woods like this._

_ "Yes, Alex, we have to be here." John replied with a sigh as we pulled up to the house that we were going to. I had to admit, Matt's place was nice for a little outdoorsy place. There he stood on the front lawn with Jeff and a really pretty young girl with pink streaks in her hair. "That must be Kaia."_

_ "Who?" I asked, looking at John as we got out of the car._

_ "Kaia Zeke. Jeff met her when he was on TNA and they fell instantly in love," John says. He gets to Matt and the two hug, "Hey." _

_ Matt smiled, "Alex, Johnny boy glad you could make it. You know Jeff and this is his girlfriend Kaia Zeke." The girl with pink streaks nodded and I could see why Jeff would date her. If I was straight, she'd be the type of girl I'd go for. Matt looked at us and said, "Dinner's almost done so you got here right on time. Then I thought we could go motorbiking."_

_ Jeff looked at Matt as if he had said the magic words, "Food and motorbiking? Dude, you didn't tell me we were havin a party!"_

_ I laughed, "So Miss Zeke-"_

_ "Kaia," she interuptted, holding up her hand, "Just Kaia."_

_ "Well just Kaia, it's nice to meet you. I'm Alex Nooks." I smiled, "John's husband." The words felt just right to roll of the tongue. _

_ "Nice to meet you Alex. I've seen you in a few matches, you're good at what you do." Kaia nodded. _

_ "Shame I haven't seen you in any. Vince has a strict policy for anyone caught watching TNA." I laughed. Although it was known that Vince DESPISED TNA with burning passion of a thousand suns, there was no real rule against it. At least not written down. None of us would admit if we had seen TNA or not._

_ "Shame. TNA could use fresh talent like you and John. You might even get the push you deserve." Kaia walked up by Jeff as the rest of us walked inside. That night was full of a lot of things, both said and done, but the one thing that I can't forget was Kaia saying that one sentence._

_-end of Alex's p.o.v.-_

"I didn't get the call til John and I were...uh...well let's use the word indisposed." Alex says softly.

I sit there, my heart breaking. It was easy to be a bitch and be cold to them when I didn't know if they did it or not but now that I know that they didn't, I have to look at this from a different point of view. "Guys...can you forgive me?"

Alex looks at John and then back at me, "Well, like, you did say some pretty heavy shit but I guess I can forgive you."

"Same goes for me," John says softly.

"I never blamed you esse." Rey nods. "There's just one more thing."

"And that is?"

"If none of us did it, who do you think did?" Rey says, giving me a look that I know all to well. He wants me to dig deep to find this answer on my own.

**KAIA ZEKE IS PROPERTY OF A FRIEND OF MINE WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIG SUPPORTER OF LATINA HEAT AND MY STORIES IN GENERAL AND I THOUGHT I'D USE HER TO SAY THANKS! YESTERDAY WAS MY BDAY AND I TRIED TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT THEN BUT THE MUSI WOULDN'T LISTEN.**


	13. Awaken

Chapter Twelve: Awaken

**I FOUND A WEBSITE THAT I'M GOING TO USE TO MAKE LILLIE'S OUTFITS FROM NOW ON!**

**/lillie_when_phil_wakes_up/set?id=23641182**

The hospital that Phil has been staying in, Chicago Mercy Medical, is usually quiet and calm at 5:30 in the morning. I'm at his bedside, holding one of his hands in one of mine and holding a cup of coffee in my other hand. Luke and Serena and Joey haven't been here at all today: Joey is out with his wife and kids while Luke and Serena are instead celebrating their aniversary. I can't blame them. I don't want to be here. I would much rather be out living life with Phil but I can't. I have to stay here in this quiet room with a man who has been in a coma for two weeks now with the only sound being the occasional ticking of the plain black wall clock that hangs over the door.

I feel Phil squeeze my hadn, this isn't the first time this has happened. The first time Phil squeezed my hand I freaked out, estatic that he was awake. But when the doctor walked into the room, a few days ago when it first happened, he told me that it was nothing but a muscle spasm and that Phil wasn't awake. That about broke my heart and everytime since I sadly have to remind myself that he's not awake yet and this time is no different. Then I hear it, "no...no more...stop..." My head, which had been lowered in a silent prayer, snaps up, and I see that Phil's lips are moving pleadingly. "no...please..."

I let go of his hand and run off to the nurses station, stopping when I reach the head nurse, an older woman by the name of Amber Wilson, and pant, "M'am...Phil...he's awake. He...he was talking..." She heads off with me to the room where Phil lays thrashing in bed, screaming his head off. She calls some more nurses into the room and they strap Phil down to the gurney before filling a syringe full of something and injecting it into him. That hurts me to see. If Phil was able to comprehend that he was being injected with drugs...he wouldn't like it. I silently vow not to tell him about that. "What...what did you inject him with?"

"It's just a sedative," Mrs. Wilson tells me, "when he wakes up, he'll either still be thrashing or he'll have calmed down. We can only hope."

"You gave him something to help him sleep! Dammit, he's been sleeping for long enough! He needs to wake up so he can tell us who did this so we can get revenge!" I shout at her. I don't mean to sound so mean. I just don't think it's right to give Phil, whose been sleeping for so long, something to help him go back to sleep when we could find out who did this to him.

"M'am, there's not much we can do until he stops screaming," Mrs. Wilson says as she and the rest of the nurses leave the room. I fish my phone out of my pocket and text Serena, _-Hey, I know you all are busy but Phil woke up. The doctor had to sedate him but he's awake.-_

I put my phone back in my pocket, not expecting to get an answer. Then my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. _-Luke and I are going to catch a flight to Chicago. Meet us in the lobby and we'll go get some food and then come back. Okay?-_

_-You all are celebrating your anniversary. Go have fun.-_

_-You and Phil are more important.-_ I read that last text and can't think of anything to say to it so I just put my phone in my pocket. I can't believe he was up. But...that screaming...it was so hard to hear Phil pleading for mercy like that. I have never seen him beg to anyone, not even me. It was something beyond him, something above him. I put my head in my hands. If he does it again, I don't know how I'll respond. Whoever did this did a number on Philly. I sit there like that for hours, about 3 hours actually, before my phone goes off again. _-We're in the lobby.-_

I squeeze Phil's hand and walk out of the room and into the lobby where Phil and Serena are standing. Serena is wearing a pretty black dress and Luke is in a tuxedo. It seems as if they planned on having a nice dinner. "Hey guys," I sigh.

"Hey," Luke nods, "c'mon. We're going to dinner."

"Honestly esses, if you want a nice and private night out I can understand." I nod, looking at them.

"We need to get you out of here," Serena smiles polietly.

"What...what if he wakes up again while I'm gone and I'm not here to help him?" I ask softly.

"That won't happen," Luke assures. "Depending on how strong a sedative he was given, the longer he'll be out. If he was given Valium he could be out for quite a while." He suddenly looks ashamed, "I...I probably shouldn't know that..."

"We all have our addictions. Yours use to be prescription medicine. We understand that." I say, patting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be ashamed. We know you'll never do it again."

He nods and we go out to dinner. I don't know how long we're gone, just that for once since Phil was put in the hospital, I genuinly don't worry about him. I guess the fact that he actually woke up and I don't have to worry about him becoming a vegetable is making me more at ease. When we get back to the hospital, the three of us head up to Phil's room. He's sitting up in his bed, drinking some water. He see's me enter and his eyes aren't the same as he'd look at me before. But then...when he looks at Serena...his eyes are like they use to look at me. "Philly, it's me, Lillie." I say, smiling at him.

He scoffs, "Serena stop playing around. I think I'd know who Lillie is when I see her." He looks back at Serena, "Hey Lillie baby."

I feel my heart break in my chest. This can't be happening.


	14. Behind Their Eyes

Chapter Thirteen: Behind Thier Eyes

In the past hour my life has gone from bad (Phil being in a coma) to good (Phil waking up from said coma) to worse (Phil being convinced that I'm Serena and that Serena is in fact me). I had to leave the hospital room to let Luke talk to Phil while Serena and I waited it out in the hallway. After about twenty minutes of silence, she finally says, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? You're not the one who was supposed to marry a man who came to be in a coma who then woke up and thought that you were his friend and that one of your closest friends was actually the woman he was in love with did you?" I say, crossly, looking up from where I was staring at my feet. "Do you have any idea what it was like to hear Philly call you Lillie?"

Serena shakes her head, "Look, you and I both know that I have no control over that. It probably hurt Luke just as much. I mean, sure I used to have a crush on Phil but that was the past. I'm with Luke now. I wouldn't do things to try to get with Phil anyways."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair, "I know, I know. I guess I'm just a little shaken up over this."

"To make it worse, isn't there a house show tonight?" Serena chuckles.

I hang my head, she's right. We have a show in Boston tonight and to make it even worse, it's a Raw and Smackdown supershow. That means that there will be twice the noise, twice the people, and twice the chance for me to snap and shove my first down the Miz's throat. "I can't just leave Phil here."

"The doctors said that he's ready to be discharged didn't they?" Serena asks.

"They want to keep him for observation," I sigh. I look up when Luke walks into the hall. "Is he better?"  
"He still doesn't' believe me but he's getting there. He's very skeptical. Thought I was Batista from some odd reason." Luke says.

I nod, "You two keep an eye on him okay?" Serena nods and for a bright second I think I see a glimmer of hope in her eyes. She loves Phil still, I mean, how could anyone fall out of love with that man. He's good and kind and sweet and perfect and….and not in love with me anymore. Even if he does eventually remember who I am, he'll eventually remember what happened between the two of us which will mean, in turn, that he remembers that he broke up with me. That's when I say, "And guys…if he does by chance remember what happened between the two of us…don't let him remember that Alberto kissed me?"

Luke smiles and claps a hand to my shoulder, "Consider it done."

Ah, Supershow. It's one of the few times a month that we get to see, as Teddy Long likes to put it, "our Raw brothers and sisters". It's also one of the few times a month that the gym smells like The Great Khali's armpits, the makeup stations are over run by Melina and Alicia Fox, and the catering area has been cleaned out by The Big Show. So you can see where it would make a girl like me crazy and want to punch the thing closest to me. But that's not the real problem. The real problem is when they want to make every match a Raw vs Smackdown match. C'mon esse's it's not a video game. We want to fight some of the people on our own brand not make the matches look like a drunk college boy who wanted to see something funny picked what superstars are going to fight who. Now, don't get me wrong, some matchups are amazingly awesome. For instance, John Cena is going to fight Alex Nooks. Now, usually I would say that this is a bad idea but lately Alex has been on a roll and I want to see if he can take on the leader of the Cenation. I think he can.

Anyways, the match thing was brought up to show you all why I am in the match I'm in tonight. It's a tag team match but instead of being with Rey or Alberto, who I'm still friends with, it's a three on three tag match. The Hart Dynasty vs Me, Chavo, and Adam. I had to read the card twice to make sure that I was reading the right matchup. Me and Adam on the same team? I mean, I've learned to trust him but I'm not so sure if Chavo has. Plus I know how Chavo fights, I know how he works. I've only eve fought against Adam, I've never fought with him. Right now I'm sitting in my locker room, lifting free weights and thinking about Phil being there with Luke and Serena. I have to push the tears out of my eyes by remembering happier times. I still can't believe he called me Serena. How could he think that I was her? I know they said he may not remember things but he remembered both of our names, he just put them on the wrong body. I guess it's a cognitive thing. Yeah I know cognition and all that, I did take psychology once my sophomore year. I hear the door open and look up to see Adam standing there in his ring gear. He smiles at me, "Hey Lillie."

"Hey," I grunt back.

"Working hard or hardly working?" he laughs, grabbing some weights and joining me. I guess he must think lowly of the Khali armpit smelling gym as well.

"You know me holmes, I gotta be ready for the match tonight," I laugh. "And you?"

"Just got outta catering. Not much to eat." Adam laughs back. We're silent for a while before he asks, "So, how's your boy? I never got to tell you how sorry I was over that. I heard Vince telling Stephanie. Phil was supposed to get a title shot too."

I tear up a bit, "He's…Adam he's awake but don't tell a soul this!" I lower my voice and say, "He thought that I was Serena and that Serna was me."

"Ouch." Adam says, he looks at me, those devilish blues boring a hole right into my heart, "What did she do about it?"

"What do you mean what did she do about it?" I ask, "There isn't much either one of us could have done. We left Luke and Phil to talk and we had a bit of a talk ourselves."

"She went to school for nursing you know." Adam says, "I'm sure there's something that she could have done in that moment and if not she could have at least explained it to you. And as for Luke talking to Phil, that's good. They'd do anything for Serena you know. Them being Luke and Joey that is." That's when it hits me like a ton of bricks. Serena knew that this could have happened to Phil's head….Luke and Joey would do ANYTHING Serena asked. I have to force myself to focus on the now. "Well, it's time for our match, you ready?"

I nod. "Damn ready." Not only am I ready to win tonight, I'm ready to confront the perpetraitors of Phil's attack.

**SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG! MY COMPUTER CRAPPED OUT ON ME PLUS I HAVEN'T REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT DIRECTION TO TAKE THIS IN! LOOK FOR AN UPDATE IN BREAKING LIGHT SOON AS WELL!**


	15. End Of The Brotherhood

Chapter Fourteen: End of the Brotherhood

The words Edge told me ring in my ears as I prepare to go out and watch one of the semi final matches at Hell In A Cell. Both of the semi final matches are going to happen tonight: Jack Swagger vs Rey Mysterio which is going to take place later and Alex Nooks vs John Morrison. I'm interested in seeing Alex fight John. The last time John fought someone he loved, he ended up single. Now, Alex has swore he won't do anything that isn't necessary but I see the lust for gold beneath his love for John. He's trying not to let it show. But that's neither here not there. Before the match starts I have to confront Serena.

I take a look in the locker room mirror, making sure I look like I mean business. My hair is swept into a high ponytail and my eyes are looking over the top of my dark sunglasses. I'm wearing a black tank top with a long leather jacket over the top of it, tight blue jeans, and black combat boots. I grab my title and sling it over my shoulder. It shows my pride and strength. It shows I worked hard to get where I am. As a woman, it shows I can keep up with the boys and even surpass them. It means I'm a warrior. I nod and leave the locker room, heading to find Serena.

I walk up and down hallways, superstars from both Raw and Smackdown doing one of two things when they see me. They either offer up a "Sorry bout Phil" or get the hell out of my way. Good. That means that they are either friendly or have enough sense to know that if they aren't a friend they are an enemy. Then why is it people like Zach Ryder and Maryse who are friendly ones and people like Kofi Kingston and Gail Kim are the ones who are advoiding me. I...I haven't changed that much have I? I shake my head and see Serena talking with Luke and Joey. Serena smiles at me as I get closer, "Hey Lil."

"Oh don't you 'hey Lil' me you bitch!" I shout raising a hand to point at her, "I know all about what you did to Phil! I know you went to nursing school and knew all about what attacking Phil could do to him and I know that it was you, Luke, and Joey who attacked him!"

"Lillie! That's not true!" Luke shouts as he puts a hand on my arm, lowering my accusing point at Serena. "She would never do anything like that and we would never attack Phil!"

"Of course not," I sarcastically say rolling my eyes, "You and Joey would do anything for that bitch!"

"Lillie, who told you that it was me? You know better. I love Phil and I would never, ever do anything to hurt him!"

"Oh, on the contrary Serena. You're in love with him but you'd do whatever it took to be with Phil. Luke's so in love with you he'd follow you anywhere to do anything you asked him to do. And Joey? He's to dumb to think for himself."

"Hey!" Joey shouts from his spot at the water cooler, "There's no need to be mean! I didn't attak Phil and neither did Luke or Serena."

"You never answered me," Serena says, her voice calm. "Who told you that I did it?"

"It doesn't matter," I quietly answer.

"It was Edge wasn't it?" Luke asks, softly.

I look at him, "Like I said, it doesn't matter!"

"Oh my god, you actually believe Adam Copeland! He made your life hell Lillie! He ruined what you thought of your familia, he attacked you, and he hated you! There is no way he'd be trying to help you!" Serena says.

"People change, Serena!" I shout back.

She looks at me, "Yeah, trust me, you're honest proof of that." I get sick of her talking, draw back my fist and slam it into her fist. She staggers back before tackling me and throwing punches to my face. Luke tears her off of me and holds her back while Joey does the same thing for me.

I tear away from him, "You know what, you go back to breaking Luke's heart because Phil loves you. I'm going to try my damndest to get Phil to remember who I am. But when he does, I don't want anything to do with the rest of you. As far as I'm concerned, there is no Straight Edged Society and there sure as hell isn't a Straight Edged family. You're all a bunch of former addicts and alcoholics that Phil took pity on or in Joey's case was forced on us."

"If we're alcoholics and addicts, so are you Lillie." Luke says, "And if you don't want anything to do with us, that's fine. Get the hell out of here."

I snarl, "My pleasure." I turn my back on them and head out to the ring to watch the match. I don't need them. All I need is my familia, my few select friends, and Phil.

**SORRY IT'S NOT TO LONG GUYS! I'LL BE UPDATING MORE OFTEN NOW BECAUSE I GOT MY LAPTOP BACK! READ AND REVIEW!**


	16. An Unlikely Friendship

Chapter Fifteen: An Unusual Friendship

Well, it appears as if, after they fight each other anyways, I'll be fighting one of two people. I'll either be facing the strength and agility of John Morrison or I'll be facing the pure power and fierceness of Jack Swagger. I still can't believe that Rey lost to Jack or that John managed to pull the victory against Alex off. The strange thing after that match was how John helped Alex up and Alex hugged him. There was no hatred, no anger. It was pure love. Alex didn't care that he had lost a chance to be champion. It was...sweet. It just reminded me how much I want to have Phil back in my arms. But...well...if he catches wind of what I did tonight to Serena, he'll never take me back.

I'm sitting alone in the bar, not drinking anything but a Pepsi but the thought waying heavily on my mind. I ruined everything. And for what? All because of my temper. All because I listened to someone who could be every bit as guilty as the people I've been accusing, if not more so. I don't see why I have to be so harsh on everyone. I guess, deep down, it's my way of retaliation. It's a coping mechanism because I'm so scared that my life is never going to be the same because I'm never going to be with Phil ever, ever again. I hear someone sit down next to me and smile, "Nice to see you outside of work." I turn to see, of all people I could see, The Big Show. He's not in his usual ring gear, in fact he's in a nice button up blue shirt and a pair of slacks. Now, I know I make fun of him alot but I've never really met the guy. I just have what I've heard everyone else say about him to go off of. But even being there in his presence, there's something oddly relaxing. "Aren't ya gonna say hello back?"

"Oh, uh, hey," I smile. I'm not sure of what to say to the man. I've never really thought of what I should do in this situation.

"You looked lonely and since there was no one else in here, I'd thought I'd sit next to you," he smiles.

"Um...that's nice Big Show."

He laughs, "We're not at work, you don't have to call me by my ring name. It's Paul. Paul Wright."

I smile, that laugh is so jovial one would have to be heartless not to smile when they heard it. Though I've acted like it lately, the one thing I'm not is heartless. "Paul it is." I nod smiling at him.

"Could I buy you a drink. I mean, I know you're in the Straight Edged Society but I could buy you a Pepsi or even a water," he says looking at me. Something tells me that the little scene that went on between Serena, Luke, Joey, and myself was seen by more people than I thought. Or Luke, Serena, and Joey have big mouths.

"I'm not a part but I don't want alcohol. What exactly do you know Paul?" I ask softly, messing with the promise ring on my finger.

"Should I start at the beginning of the list or just talk about the things that involve you?" he asks, laughing. When he orders a beer and a water, his massive hands make the glass look as if it was a toy.

"As horrible as it sounds, I'll take what you know just about me." I smile.

"Well, I know that tonight you had a hell of a fight with Joey, Luke, and Serena. I know that you quit the Straight Edged Society," I nod, so he saw what went down, "and I know that part of you blames yourself for what happened to Phil and you're yelling and pushing people away because you're afraid that whoever did that to Phil is going to do it to everyone else that you care about. It won't happen but you're scared it will."

I look at him, "Oh? And how the hell do you know this about me when I don't even know this about myself?"

"I'm good at reading people," Paul nods, smiling at me. There's something easy going about him. I've seen him on Smackdown, talking and laughing with people but I've never really thought about how popular he was not only with the fans but with the guys backstage. And at one point in time, he was just like me. Rude, crude, and evil. I mean, the man tag teamed with Chris Jericho AND The Miz for god sakes. And then one day he just made a change. I guess he decided he didn't like the way that his life was going.

"Paul...how did you do it? Change so quickly I mean?" I ask softly.

He looks at me, "I woke up one day and didn't like the person that I saw in the mirror. I wasn't myself. I had completely changed into someone, something that I didn't like. I decided I was going to take the different path. I cleaned up my act, not unlike you did way back when you first joined the Straight Edged Society. But, that's neither here nor there. You need to find out who attacked Phil and piece together the pieces. If you don't, you're life is just going to keep going down the road you're on."

I nod and go for my wallet. I fish out 5 dollars, "Here, for the water."

"Nah, I'll pay for it. Just remember what we talked about. And if you need someone to talk to about that ever again, just come and find me. I'm always willing to lend an open ear." he shakes my hand and it isn't until I get outside that I've noticed he's slipped a little note inside of my sleeve. I pull it out and read it:

_Check Swagger's alibi._

Swagger...now why didn't I think to ask him...


	17. Perfect Timing

Chapter Sixteen: Perfect Timing

The hotels we stay at are usually full of life and superstars talking loudly, even at 4:25 in the morning. For some reason though, tonight isn't the same. No one is in the lobby complaning about how cramped their room is and that they should have a bigger one, like The Miz usually does. No one is making out with their boyfriend loudly enough that any passer bys think that two people may very well be having sex right in front of them, like Michelle McCool and Cody Rhodes usually do. No one is laughing so loudly with their friends that people who hear can't help but manage a chuckle, like...well...like I use to do. It's almost dead silent and I hope that I can get back to my room without breaking this peaceful evening.

I make my way to my room and after changing into some work out clothes I head to the gym. I couldn't sleep even if I wanted to right now. It's almost as if something, some force of nature is compelling me to go to the gym this early. I see Jack working on a treadmill as I enter and I don't think he hears me. I stay to the darkness, hoping not to be seen or heard. I'm not stalking Jack. On the contrary, I couldn't care less about what he does. But...there's something a bit odd. A good protege never trains without his mentor nearby. Almost as if on cue, Adam walks out of the dressing room and smiles at Jack. "I can see you've started early. Finish up on there and then we'll talk."

"Yes sir," Jack nods. As I watch them, I effortlessly lift small weights. Hey, I did come down here to work out and not just be a creeper. If I were to get caught, I would need a solid alibi. Lifting weights in the gym is a lot less inconspicous than spying on two people. After a while Jack finishes lifting and looks at Adam. "What now?"

"Well, I want you to do a few leg lifts. That should work with getting you limber enough to fight that bastard John Morrison. Then it's on to the big time, Lillie Belle." Adam smirks.

"Of course. And you'll be there when I have to fight her." Jack smirks back. I shouldn't be surprised by either one of these things but, oddly enough, I am. I thought Adam had changed which meant he would have been fine with John being the guy to beat. It also would have meant that he would see no need to be out at the ring with Jack IF Jack and I fought. I'm not saying when. John has just as much a chance to beat Jack and go on to face me...aw who the hell am I kidding. Jack's going to demolish John. It's just a fact of life. The big guys always manage to beat the hell out of the little ones.

"Damn right." Adam nods.

It's silent for a while with Jack working on the leg machine and Adam watching almost preditorily. Finally Jack asks, "And your sure no one knows what we did? Especially her?"

Adam puts a hand on Jack's back, "I told you when we did it that it was a good thing to do. She's heartbroken over it. And he'll never wrestle again."

"I keep thinking about that night. I...I've never hurt another human being like that before. God there was so much blood. So much pain in his eyes and voice Adam. I can't get that night out of my head. And my biggest worry is that someone will find out we did it. That Lillie will find out we did it." Jack says, looking up at Adam with a twinge of remorse in his voice. So there it is. After about a month and a half of worrying who it was that hurt my Phil, of misguided clues sent from that bastard Adam Copeland, I finally have my answer. My answer is Adam and Jack. It makes perfect sense now but at the same time I don't want to believe it. If I believe it, I would have to admit that I was wrong.

"Jack, it's okay to feel like you did something wrong. We both did something wrong. We just have to get over it. There's no going back. I've told her what I needed to and she thinks Serena, Luke, and Joey did it. She broke apart from the Straight Edge Society. It isn't long now before she'll be completely gone. She'll hate herself and Phil. You'll get that title," Adam sooths, rubbing Jack's back.

"That's what you think," I sneer, stepping out of the shadows. They both turn and look at me and I just shake my head. "You two thought you were so clever. Telling me what you wanted me to hear just to get what you needed. Well now I know the truth. I know what you did and I can tell everyone."

"Oh yeah? And who'd believe you? C'mon Lillie, everyone you use to know hates you. That includes your man," Adam lets out a sharp bark of a laugh. "You're completely and utterly alone now."

I shake my head, "You're...you're a jerk! I trusted you Adam! I thought you could actually be nice for once."

"You were wrong," Adam laughed evilly.

I hadn't noticed Jack circling me like I was a fresh piece of meat until he says, "So, Adam, what do you think we should do with her?"

"Hmmm, I dunno Jack. Maybe we should hurt her like we hurt her precious Phil." Adam smirked, "But I think we should just leave her like she is. She's lost everything except that title already and soon she'll lose that to."

I shook my head, "I'll get you back I swear to god!" I charged him but Jack grabbed me before I could get close, "Let me go!"

"Not gonna happen," he tosses me hard against the wall and my head hits it. My vision is blurry and I can barely see them leaving the gym. I bring my hand up to my head to feel a soft liquid. It's blood. I softly close my eyes, the pain getting to be to much. I hear talking but can't make out any voices to be significant. I pass out, the pain to much for me.

**OH NOES! SO THE REAL MONSTERS WHO ATTACKED PHIL ARE OUT IN THE OPEN!**


	18. At My Side

Chapter Seventeen: At My Side

When I open my eyes, I can see the bright lights that unmistakabley belong to a hospital room. I hear voices to my left, the most pronounce saying, "I think she's awake." I turn my head a bit to see...Luke, Serena, Joey and Phil? Why are they there? After everything I said and did to them, well Luke and Serena and Joey at least, and here they are.

"Lillie, you awake?" Serena asks me softly.

I blink my eyes, only managing to croak out, "Why?"

"You may have ditched us, you may have hurt our feelings as your friends, but we are your friends. Every friendship has their ups and downs. We hit a new low. There's nothing to do now but see each other's differences." Luke says. Leave it to him to sum up how I felt in those dark moments.

I look at Phil and there's something familiar in his eyes, "Phil...I know you don't remember me and I know you don't love me like you use to but..."

He puts a finger against my lips, "Actually...I think I've got my memory back about who you are."

Tears cloud my eyes, "Really? You...you know me?"

"I did a lot of talking and picture looking with Luke and Joey and Serena. They showed me who you are, who I am. They told me how much in love we are. And...and looking at you now I don't know why I ever mistook you for Serena."

That right there is enough to make me cry. The tears flood down my face and Phil lightly holds me, "Oh god Phil, it's good to have the old you back!" We hold each other for a while before I look at the others, "So, what's the deal with my injury?"

Joey laughs nervously, "Uh, do you want to tell her Luke?"

Luke looks at me and sighs, "Well, you had to have stitches and you have a concussion. Lillie...you're going to be out for a while..."

"How long am I going to be out?" I ask, knowing that I'm not going to like the answer.

"The better part of the month," Serena says softly.

"Fuck!"

"Hey watch your language bambino!" Rey says as he and Chavo enter. Rey's holding a boquet of lilacs, my favorite flower.

"Sorry Rey Rey," I smile, "I didn't know you were coming in or I wouldn't have said that."

"Oh and what about me?" Chavo asks, smirking.

"I don't care what you hear me say," I tease. Rey and Chavo say their hello's to everyone before I look at Phil, "I know who did that to you!"

Phil nods, "I know who did it to me to. But...they told me while they were beating the hell out of me that if I told anyone...they'd hurt you..."

"Too late for that," I say, "They were the ones who did this to me. I swear to god, we'll get back at them."

"First lets focus on you facing either Jack or John," Rey says, "I've fought both of them before and I have to say you have a hard task for beating either, especially with this injury. Not saying that John would capitalize on it like Jack would but, well, we all know that injuries are the best way to beat an opponent."

"How long do I have to stay here?" I ask, sitting up more.

"A few days the doctors said," Luke nods.

Chavo smiles, "Don't worry, we'll all be here for you."

"Damn right we will be," Alex says as he and John enter.

"You...you guys came too?" I ask.

"Yeah, we heard what happened and came as soon as Alex was able to put his pants back on," laughs John. I can see Alex blush and I can only guess what they were doing before they got here. I take a look around the room. There my best friends, and the love of my life stand, and suddenly I realize something. It doesn't matter what I've done to them, they came back to me. They accepted me. They may harbor a bit of a hatred for me underneath but they put that aside to come sit by my side. I lay my head against Phil, who'se sitting up on the bed with me.

"Thanks guys...I don't deserve this..." I say softly.

"You do deserve this, you'd do this for any of us despite how you feel about us right now. Sure we all trust you about as far as we can throw you right now but we can build up that trust," Alex says.

I nod, "Sure. I'll fix everything I broke..."

"It may take a while, you hurt some of us badly. I mean, hell, you threatened my career and the love of my life," Alex says softly.

"Pushed me," Rey chimes in.

"And accused us of attackin our best friend," Luke, Serena, and Joy add.

"I get it, I get it. I hurt you guys badly. I'm sorry. Do any of you understand what it's like to lost someone your close to? I've gone through that once in my life I didn't want to have to go through it again..."

"Your not the only one who was close to Eddie," Chavo adds, "you forget Rey and I were close to him to. We understand the pain."

"And you didn't lose me," Phil softly says, kissing the top of my head.

"No, I didn't did I." I cuddle close and soon fall asleep. First things first, I have to get better. Then I have to wait for whoever wins the John/Jack match to win. As close as I am to John, I personally hope Jack wins. Then I can put him through the same sort of hell he put me through.


	19. At Last, My Love Has Come Along

Chapter Eighteen: At Last, My Love Has Come Along

**THIS CHAPTER HAS MATURE MATERIAL! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

I have heard people talk about how much it sucks to be out of work due to an injury. I mean, when Rey had to have surgery on his back he complained almost the whole time. Now that I'm having to go through it myself, I see that they were right. I sit at home most of the time, doing nothing. I try to sneak downstairs to work out but when whoever is staying there with me (sometimes it's Rey or Chavo, sometimes it's Luke or Phil) catches me, they always drag me back upstairs to bed. Because of the severity of my head injury I'm not really supposed to be doing alot. I say fuck that. I need to keep in tip top shape if I plan on fighting a championships match when I get back, no matter who I fight.

Today, the Monday before the Jack Swagger vs John Morrison fight, Phil is looking after me. I'm sitting on the couch watching this show called Mad Men. Phil brought over the first season. I had never had time to watch television programs on a daily basis before but this is addictive. Phil's making popcorn as I cuddle underneath the big blanket sitting on the couch. The dvd is in the dvd player and I'm laying against the couch arm. He comes back in with two pepsi's and a huge bowl of popcorn with white cheddar flavoring on it. "Sorry it took so long. You don't have normal microwave popcorn. You have the difficult stuff I actually have to put on the stove," he complains sitting next to me and wrapping his arm around me.

"Oh stop your whinning," I giggle, grabbing some of the popcorn and putting it in my mouth. I relax against him and look up at him. He's giving me this look that I can't place. "What is it Phil?"

"I can't believe I actually confused you with Serena..." he says, looking embarrassed.

"You didn't know what you knew...if that makes sense," I say softly, turning to look at him.

"That shouldn't have mattered! You're the love of my life! How could I not know who you are if my heart is so dedicated to you?" he says softly.

I look at him and put a hand against his chest, "It's okay. I understand, I'm not upset with you at all."

"You were. Luke told me all about was going on," Phil sighs, "He told me about what you did, how you reacted to everyone around you. And...and he told me that you never took off the ring."

I look at my hand, the wedding ring still on. "I...I couldn't. I screwed everything up. And I didn't even mean to. I should have understood when Alberto first started coming around that...that he was trouble and..."

Phil puts a finger against my lips, "Lillie, I understand. I really do. Seeing you kiss him, my anger just flared up. That's one way we're so much alike." He takes my hand and slips the ring off. "I want to do this right okay. You'll get this back when I can make the most romantic, sweet proposal I can."

I smile and kiss him sweetly, "Oh Phil, I don't care if it's sweet I just want you to propose to me!"

Phil smiles, "Then will you Lillie Belle Guerrero do me the honor of marrying me?"

I giggled and nodded, "Yes, Phillip Brooks I will marry you."

He slips the ring on my finger and I throw my arms around him. There's a moment where it feels like everything is right and I kiss him. That kiss spirals into more. Before I know it, I'm straddling his hips and running my hands through his hair. He breaks away from me, "Lillie...what are you doing?"

"I'm thanking you," I giggle, kissing him again.

"Thanking me how Lillie?" he asks, voice soft.

"I...Phil...we're engaged...I thought it would be okay," I stammer.

"Lillie, I don't want you to end up even more hurt than you are. Sure we're engaged but...well..." his look tells me something.

"You're not ready are you? Phil...I'm not going to hurt you and you don't have to worry about that monster ever again." I reply softly. I know what he's thinking about, he's thinking about what his father did to him when he was little. "No one is ever, ever going to hurt you like that ever again. And if you're not ready, then we won't."

He looks at me, "What...what if I'm ready?"

I smile and take his hand in mine, "Then we will."

He smiles and I get off his lap, "So what'll it be?"

He helps me up and we walk upstairs to the bedroom, answering my question. He removes his black SES shirt and stands before me in all his tattooed glory. I've seen him without a shirt on a million times but for some reason this is different. I take my shirt off to reveal my black bra. "We really have something for the color black don't we?" I tease as I lay back on the bed.

Phil straddles me and smirks down at me, boring a hole in me with his handsome brown eyes, "I guess we do." He kisses me and before I know it, other articles of clothing are being shed before it's just him and I like nature intended to be. I'm staring into his eyes and he's hovering over me. He runs a hand up and down my body until he reaches me there and slips a finger inside. I buck my hips and he sooths, "Shhh...I know it's been a while since you've had anyone and I don't mean to hurt you..."

"I...I know but...oh god...it doesn't hurt..." I mewl, biting my lip. "Feels so good Philly..."

Phil kisses me and trails his head down to my breasts as I wrap my arms around his shoulders. He licks and laves at one with his tongue and I let out a sharp hiss. He's teasing me down there with two fingers now and licking at my breast like their coated in Pepsi or something. I let out small moans, intermittent with Phil's name before I feel like I'm going to lose it. He pulls his fingers out of me and in one quick snap of his hips, he's inside of me. Just like that, I'm joined with my lover. We stop being two entities and become one. Every thrust of his hips is met by a counterthrust of mine, each kiss soft and strategically placed, and every moan or whisper making me need him so much more. I hope this never ends, but like all great things it does, and Phil comes deep inside of me. He rolls off of me and we take a few minutes to catch our breat. "I can feel you," I say, pointing to the center of my chest, "in here."

Phil laughs and pulls me close, "That's why I love you because some of your ideas are even crazier than mine." he kisses my head.

"No, Phil, I'm serious. It's like your inside of me." I tell him, turning my head so I can see him. It's like Phil is an ever living part of my own soul, something that I wouldn't be able to live without. But I know how he see's it.

"I think you're running a bit behind. I _was _inside of you about a minute ago but now I'm beside you," he tells me. I hit him softly, unable to keep the smile from my face. "Ow! What was that for?" he asks, rubbing his chest.

"For being a smartass, something you're very good at." I giggle, looking up at him. He leans down and kisses me again. "Nope, you're in trouble." I smile, turning my face away. He turns it back to face him and kisses me again, "No, you're still in trouble." I say softly. Yet again, he kisses me."I hate it when you do this. You're to stubborn for my own good." I say through the kiss. Our Mad Men Marathon long forgotten admist the celebrating of our engagement, I lay there in his arms and my head on his chest and fall asleep. I couldn't much care who wins between John and Jack right now. My life is absolutely perfect.


	20. The Face of A Foe

Chapter Nineteen: The Face of A Foe

**IF THE MATCH SEEMS FAMILIAR, IT'S BECAUSE I WATCHED THE 4-23-10 MATCH THAT HAD JACK SWAGGER VS JOHN MORRISON AND TRIED TO GET IT DOWN AS MUCH AS I COULD. THE ONLY THING THAT IS DIFFERENT IS...well...YOU'LL SEE! I'M REALLY BAD AT WRITTING MATCHES! PLEASE GUYS, READ AND REVIEW!**

As much as it sucked to watch Raw on the couch without being able to be there to at least do some guest commentary, it sucked just as much to watch ECW. But even worse was to have to sit on the couch like I'm doing at the moment. Phil isn't with me because he had to cut a promo with Luke and Joey about the Straight Edged Society going after tag team gold. I sit there alone on my couch, bowl of popcorn on my lap. After their promo it's time to watch the John Morrison vs Jack Swagger match. I wish I was there to commentate on it. I mean, I hate being here alone. I have no one to talk to.

"_**CHECK ONE TWO OH/YEAH OH CHECK THIS/SHIT OUT I GOT/YOU WHERE I WANT/YOU YOUR CLOCKS RUN/OUT OF TIME CAUSE/YOU KNOW I KNOW/YOU AND I'LL SHOW/YOU THAT THE HEAT/YOU FEEL IS MINE/YEAH FEAR IT GRIPS/YOU AND IT RIPS YOU**_..." start's Jack's theme song. He's heading out to the ring with Edge at his side. He's wearing a traditional wrestling singlet and grossing out everyone, me included. Obviously mami doesn't mind what Edge did to me because he's still wearing his wedding ring. Then again, she probably thinks that I'm lying. Ever since Edge got into the picture, she's thought that I'm always lying when it comes to him. But that's neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that Jack is ready to fight and has a friend.

"_**NOW LISTEN THIS AIN'T/NO MAKE BELIEVE C'MON/OPEN YOUR EYES AND/SEE NOW GET UP/GET UP AND FOLLOW/ME I'M GONNA SHOW/YOU WHAT THE FUTURE/WILL BE TO MUCH/WASTED TIME YOUR GONNA/WASTE NO MORE**_..." as John's theme song starts the fans go crazy. Girls are reaching over the barricade to try and touch him and I can only imagine how Alex feels backstage. I'm being serious. Girls never want to touch my Philly. Which I don't understand. He's one of the most gorgeous men on Smackdown. Better looking than John Morrison in my opinion. Then again, that may be biased based on the fact that I (unlike the rest of the world) know that John Morrison is gay. They look at each other and the match begins.

They circle the ring once, intently staring at each other before Jack goes for a leg take down. I watch both move sets intently, Jack's a bit more so that John's. I've fought highfliers before and while, yes, everyone has a different method each has the same basis. I've never fought a technical wrestler before. Jack manages to land his leg take down and has John in the corner, looking up at him with those big puppy dog eyes. John gets to his feet and goes for a grapple, hooking his arms around Jack Swagger's waist and trying to get him in some sort of bear hug before Jack counters it, only to be tossed over John's shoulder. It sort of backfires because Jack rolls John onto his stomach once to the left and once to the right in some sort of weird submission manuever. John pushes himself back up to his feet, not letting the move get him all that weekend, though Jack still has him locked in a tight grip. Jack tries to pick him up for some sort of slam but John manages to keep to his feet. John quickly manuevers so that he is now behind Jack, only to recieve a painful elbow in the head. Like I said before, I don't want to be Alex right about now.

Jack manages to slam John to the mat and stands over him like a dog after the attack, Edge barking praises from the side of the ring. Jack runs to the ring ropes and goes to land a leg drop to John's head but John smartly rolls out of the way, runs to the ropes himself, and manages to kick Jack in the face. He goes for the pin and Jack pushes him away at the count of 2. John is the first to his feet and doesn't waist any time in kicking Jack in the ribs, trying to weaken his much bigger opponent. He pulls Jack up and punches him in the head once before landing a punch to the ribs. He and Jack are leaning against the ropes and Jack counters a toss by John into the ring ropes, instead sending John into the ropes and missing a chance to clothesline him when John drops to the mat and darts between Jack's legs. As ingenious as that sounds, John is able to do nothing with it because as soon as Jack turns back around he hits John with a very rough slam. He stops to take a breath as John rolls around on the ground in obvious pain. Jack stands up, looking down at John, catching his breath from this high paced match. Both of these men seem to be doing amazing. The dumb television goes to a commercial break and I decide to go get a soda and go use the rest room. I definitly don't want to go during the match, I might miss something important.

I come back into the room a few minutes later, having utilized the commercial break, to see Jack with his legs wrapped around John in a painful scissor stomach hold. John manages to push himself up from the position he was laying in, into a sitting position and pushes at Jack's legs to make him break the hold. He manages to tear one of Jack's legs away from the other and then pushes himself to a vertical base, again elbowing Jack in the head to make him let go of his grip around his waist. Jack tires of the elbows to the head and sends a very solid punch to John's midsection, sending him into the corner by the turnbuckle. Jack pulls him up by the hair and then lifts him so that John is straddling the turnbuckle. He sends a powerful punch to John's head and steps up onto the second rope, attempting to suplex John off the turnbuckle. John, however, has other ideas and manages to keep his feet on the ropes. He sends chops into the side of Jack's head, sending Jack off of the ring ropes. I grip the blanket I'm holding tighter as John climbs to the very top rope and jumps off for a dropkick to Jack's upper midsection. Again John goes for the cover but Jack kicks out right as the ref's hand is coming down for the three count. John doesn't waist no time going in for another elaborate pin but again he is denied a win.

John's starting to get angry as he pulls Jack back up and punches him in the head. He backs him up into the turnbuckle, hitting him once in the head again before tossing him hard into the other turnbuckle and attempting the Starship Pain before recieveing a big boot to the head. Jack finally goes for his first pin which, surprisingly, John manages to kick out of. Jack sends a standing elbow drop into John's stomach, which has to be really hurting from all the attacks to it, before standing up and delievering another. Jack then stands up and delievers a standing leg drop to John's midsection. Jack then swings so where his legs are behind him and goes to pin John but fails in picking up the win when John lifts his shoulder as if driven by pure instinct. Jack looks bewildered but instead of yelling at the ref he goes for some intricate submission hold which twists John's arm behind his back and keeps him on his knees. Somehow John manages to push himself to his feet and twist in the hold to stomp on Jack's foot. It may be childish but it forces Jack to let him go somewhat and allows John to turn enough to land an elbow in Jack's midsection. John then goes to the ropes and bounces off, only to get caught by Jack who picks him up by the legs and sends some sort of back drop to John. The sound of his head hitting the matt makes me feel uncomfortable and I know that John's head has to be swimming right about now. The television camera goes to a close up of Jack and I can see that he's bleeding from the mouth. One of John's punches must have broken one of Jack's pearly whites. Good. Or so I think. There's a look in Jack's eyes as if tasting his own blood has set something off in him. He goes over to John and firmly plants one of his wrestling boots to his stomach, the pain from which causing John to roll over onto his side and Jack turning him onto his back with a boot before raising his arms so the crowd can "worship" him. I hate it.

Jack plants one knee on the side of John and grabs him by the hair before slamming his head against the mat. That's a diva's move right there. I can say that because technically, though I'm a girl, I'm considered a superstar because I fight with the men. Jack stands up and turns his back away from John before turning back and lifting John by one of his outstreatched, pleading hands and going for a half nelson. John grabs one of Jack's hands and attempts to force Jack to break the hold. Seeing where he's going with this, Jack punches John in the side of the head again and again and again. He then relocks the same submission move on John. Instead of keeping his kneeling position, John ends up on the mat. That move, I don't know what it's called but it looks painful. It has to be painful. And yet John refuses to give up. That tells me two things: one about each competitior. One, John is resiliant and two, I need to stay away from that move. Somehow, though there are tears of pain in his eyes, John forces himself to a sitting position and then to a standing position before backing Jack into the nearest turnbuckle and planting an elbow in his ribcage to force him to break the hold. He lands three before managing to toss Jack over his shoulder. It's remarkable. Jack gets to his feet before John, who as soon as he is on his feet rushes over to attack John. Jack catches him but is unable to attack because John quickly turns it into a faceplant for Jack. Both men are laying on the mat, looking horrid, as the ref starts the ten count. I find myself rooting for John, even if it does mean that I'll have to face him when he wins. Who else am I supposed to root for? Because I will never and I mean NEVER root for Jack Swagger.

The referee gets to the seven count and Jack gets to his feet miliseconds before John. He walks over to John with purpose and the intent to punch him, probably in the gut, before John lands a punch to Jack's head. He does it again and again and again until Jack falls to the matt. John then runs to the ropes and manages to land a flying elbow to Jack, who had gotten up, only to be sent back down to the matt. John's fired up now. Jack goes for a clothesline but John reverses it, sending him flying off the ropes behind them, over the ropes in front of them and kicking Swagger who attempts to hurl himself over the ringropes to hit John. Silly Swagger, top rope moves are for Morrison. What surprises me though is that Edge is simply sitting there watching this happen. Other than shouting encouragement and what Jack should be doing, he hasn't budged. The force of his own kick sends John to the ground and he goes to cover Jack but sadly can't pick up the win. Jack attempts to pull himself up with the ropes and John assists, pulling Jack up and attempting to toss him into the other ring ropes before Jack twists his arm and picks him up for a slam. He tosses John over his shoulder but John doesn't hit the matt, at least not in pain anyways. He is able to land like a cat, on his feet. He runs up on Jack, whose back is turned to him, and goes for a rollup which Jack manages to kick out of. John looks behind him, rockets himself up on to the middle rope, jumps off and lands a mighty hard kick to Jack's face. It makes Jack turn and fall face first to the matt before John goes for yet another pin and yet another disappointment.

John pushes himself to his knee's near Swagger, cupping his chin and looking at him oddly. He's planning something. He stands up, pulls Jack up by the neck, and punches him in the stomach. He then attempts to Irish whip Jack into the other ropes but Jack beats him to it, obviously with a shoulder lift in mind because he bends down. John kicks Jack in the face and Jack stumbles back, bending slightly over the top rope. John goes toward Jack and tries to lift him but is instead lifted and sent chest first into the ring ropes. Jack capitalizes on the moment to pull off his finishing maneuver: the gutwrench powerbomb. The crowd knows John is done, the announcers know John is done, Edge and Jack both know John is done, and I know John is done. In fact, the only person who doesn't seem to think that John is done...is John who reaches his hand out and grabs the bottom rope. The crowd errupts into a cheer and I can't help but scream, "C'mon Johnny boy!"

Jack and Edge are both furious, Edge even mouths some words that can't be show because the WWE is PG now. Jack turns to yell at the ref who tells him that it was two. Jack angrily goes over to John and kicks his hand off of the rope. John rolls into the center of the ring in pain where Jack stomps on his stomach. He then stands straddled over John and pulls him up by the arm. He picks John up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and goes to slam John face first into the nearest turnbuckle. John has other ideas because he wriggles out of Jack's grasp and pushes Jack into the turnbuckles. John then does a sideways version of a dropkick as Jack backs out of the corner and manages to knock Jack off of his feet. John stands up, looking at the crowd as grabs the top ring rope in the corner, looking over his shoulder before he goes for the intricate finishing move known as Starship Pain. He comes rocketing towards Jack Swagger...who rolls out of the way. Both men lay there wasted on the mat as Jack lazily puts his arm over John's shoulders. This time the pin is effective. I close my eyes, John was so close!

Edge rushes in the ring to help Jack up, who is still bleeding from the mouth. He raises Jack's hand in victory. That bleeding blonde face is the face of the enemy. It is the face of the man who hurt not only myself but Phil as well. That is the face of Jack Swagger, my new number one contender.


	21. Surprise, Surprise

Chapter Twenty: Surprise, Surprise

I spend the rest of the month home resting, recooperating, and training when no one is there to keep me from it. That's mostly on Fridays due to Smackdown, thank god for everyone who means a lot to me being on the same show. So during the days on Fridays I work my ass off but during the night I sit and watch Jack intently. Mostly he cuts promos against me and wrestles in matches against people less aggressive and smaller, always with Adam at his side. The matches catch my eye, of course, but the promos catch my ears. Some of the thing she says about me are downright nasty, like the promo he's cutting right now as I sit backstage for the first time in a long time. He nor Adam know I'm here. It's a secret because I'm guest announcing Phil and Luke's tag team match against Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins to see who gets to fight David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd for the Unified Tag Team Championship.

Anyways, Jacks ugly mug is on the television, showing him in his locker room reading something as Adam walks in. "Hey man," smirks Adam, "what are you reading?"

Jack shows Adam the cover of the book: it's a spanish-english dictionary. "I want to understand Lillie when I fight her." They laugh together for a minute, my blood boiling.

"All joking aside, you have a match set up that's going to be legendary. You versus Lillie Belle Guerrero...or should I say Mysterio. I can't even keep track any more. At one moment, she's evil and dark and the next she's bright and happy," smirks Adam, "how have you been training for this?"

"Well, I've read this and watched all I could of Eddie Guerrero's matches. I mean, Lillie doesn't have a move set of her own, she just ripped off Eddie!" Jack laughs. Again my blood boils and my hand tightens around the glass of water I'm holding. "I'm just glad I don't have to fight that stupid, moronic spic Eddie Guerrero. I'm glad he's-" before Jack can finish that statement, someone turns the televisino off. I turn to see Phil standing there, remote in his hand, looking at me.

"Turn it back on, NOW!" I growl. I'm not mad at him, he knows that.

"Lillie, you and I both know what he was going to say," Phil softly says, "why listen to the rest of it?"

"He...how could he..." I stammer off, looking down at my lap.

Phil crosses over to me and lifts my face with a finger, "Ignore him. He's an asshole who's trying to get to you. You should be use to it with Adam and it looks like Jack is just going to be a younger Adam."

I nod and stand up, "Well, I'm gonna go change into my ring gear for the night, okay?"

"Ring gear?" Phil laughs, "Lillie Belle, you don't plan on fighting do you? Technically you're not due back til next week."

I nod and give him an innocent look, "I don't PLAN on fighting but if I just so happen to end up fighting, I can't be blamed can I?"

He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pecks me on the cheek, "You can't be blamed but you can be unencouraged."

I smile, "Well, I do have to go get changed anyways. I think that Vince would frown on me if I walked out to show the world the Spiderman pajama bottoms and matching tank top you got me." That's right folks Phil here is turning me into a comic book fan. It's his secret hobby, well, not so secret. But that's not the point. The point is I'm in my pajamas. I go and change into a green tank top with tight jeans and black boots. I exit the bathroom and Phil is standing in the locker room talking to Luke.

Obviously he didn't hear me come in because he says, "I know Luke but she won't listen to reason. She plans on getting in a fight tonight."

"I don't plan on it but if it were to happen, then you two probably couldn't stop me," I giggle as I come to stand next to Phil.

"Baby...I didn't..." he stammers, looking sheepish.

I kiss his cheek, "Phil, honestly, it's okay. I am a fighter, I'll give you that much. But I won't go looking for them purposefully." He nods and I look at Joey, "Did I interupt an important boss/lacky moment?"

"Nah, I was just talking to him about tonight. We're going to beat them, at least I'm pretty sure we are." Luke laughs.

Phil nods, "Luke, we have to head out to the ring. We're supposed to introduce Lillie. Better be prepared for some loud screaming." We all walk out of the room and everything seems to have changed. Once again superstars like Kofi and Rosa are smiling at me while superstars like Dolph Ziggler and Michelle McCool give me odd looks. The old Lillie is back with the same old smile on her face. I love it. Phil wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses the side of my head, "Ready to face your adoring fans?"

I nod as I hear "_**ALL I EVER WANTED/WAS DESTINY TO BE/FULFILLED IT IS IN/MY HANDS I MUST/NOT FAIL, I MUST/NOT FAIL**_..." Phil and Luke nod at me before they walk out to the ring. I'm watching on the small monitor backstage. Phil and Luke are being cheered as if they were heroes and Phil grabs for a microphone.

"Well, well, well, how are we doing tonight in Cleveland?" Phil waits for the loud burst of cheering to die down before he says, "You all expected to see a match to determine the new number one contenders for the tag team championships but what you didn't plan on seeing was what I'm about to present to you. Now, if you would all make some noise for my one and only lady and your United States Champion, Lillie Guerrero!"

"_**AND IT'S JUST LIKE/THE OCEAN UNDER THE/MOON WELL THAT'S THE/SAME AS THE EMOTION/THAT I GET FROM/YOU YOU GOT THE/KIND OF LOVIN THAT/CAN BE SO SMOOTH/SO GIVE ME YOUR/HEART MAKE IT REAL/OR ELSE FORGET ABOUT/IT**_..." my theme hits and you would think that my uncle came back from the dead to fight in one last match. The chant of the name Guerrero spans over the arena and I love it. I exit, raising my championship high as I look at everyone before walking to the ring. I get in and stand next to Phil before grabbing the microphone and saying, "Listen everyone, I'm back and you're going to see that I'm the Lillie you all know and love. What I did before is in the past, I swear I won't make any of those mistakes now."

The not so memorable theme music of Vance Archer and Curt Hawkins starts and I get out of the ring to sit with Matt Striker and Todd Grisham, "Miss Guerrero, welcome back!" Matt greets as I sit down next to him. Matt Striker, though some think of him as a duechebag, is acutally a really cool guy. He's a lot nicer than Todd Grisham, that's for sure.

The bell rings and the match begins. Phil and Luke dominate for the beginning of the match and most of the way through the match but just when it's looking like they might actually win, another theme song starts up. "_**YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME/ ON THIS DAY I SEE CLEARLY/ EVERYTHING HAS COME TO LIFE/ A BITTER PLACE AND A BROKEN DREAM/ AND WE'LL LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND/ ON THIS DAY IT'S SO REAL TO ME/ EVERYTHING HAS COME TO LIFE…" **_Out runs Edge, followed swiftly by Jack Swagger. Phil instantly loses focus on the match and runs out of the ring to protect me. The moment they hit Luke, the ref rings the bell and Phil and Luke win. I jump into the ring, angry as can be. This was supposed to be a good match and just like they ruin a good thing. I deliver a standing dropkick to Edge and Phil does the exact same thing to Jack at the exact same time. Luke's catching his breath as Vance Archer decides he want to join in on the action, which of course tells Curt Hawkins that it's a good idea for him to join in the fray. I feel a fist connect to my back and drop to my knee's. We're being demolished. I see someone run out and start fighting them off: Alex and John. It's a full out brawl in the center of the ring. Alex and John are fighting off Curt and Vance respectivley while Luke is still a bit groggy from his attack and Phil and I focus on Jack and Edge. The bad guys eventually run off, together even, but my eyes are still locked on Edge. He had this planned. This was his idea of revenge.

I look at Phil and I raise his and Luke's hands in victory. They get a title shot at the next pay-per-view. And so does Jack Swagger.

**YOU GUYS WANNA KNOW WHY THIS ONE IS SHORTER THAN THE FIRST ONE? BECAUSE I STOPPED GETTING FEEDBACK! I HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF PLANNED BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO READ ANYMORE. SO THE WAY TO GET A LONGER STORY (MAYBE EVEN A CHARACTER WEDDING) IS TO REVIEW!**


	22. Your Perfect Night

Chapter Twenty One: Your Perfect Night

**THIS IS JUST A BIT OF A CHAPTER THAT I WANTED TO ADD IN THAT ONLY HAS A LITTLE TO DO WITH THE PLOT. IT IS A MATURE CHAPTER (NOT GRAPHICALLY ALEX AND LILLIE JUST DO SOME MATURE SHOPPING) SO READERS BE WARNED!**

"Alex, for the last time I can wait to go dress shopping!" I say as Alex and I sit in his car. I had told him and John about being engaged to Phil and since then Alex has been obsessed with finding me the perfect dress. I keep telling him I can wait but he doesn't see it this way. So Alex and I are off to the mall on this fine Saturday while Joey, Phil, Luke, and John go see the Laker's game.

"Lillie! Please! You wanna look cute in your dress right? Well, we can get you a cute dress before you start planning the rest of the wedding! I'm really good at this stuff. I set up mine and Johnny's wedding," Alex smiles as he pulls into the parking lot of the Mall of America. I've never been here but Phil loves it. The outisde is huge!

I look at him, a dead pan look on my face though my words are meant in fun, "Alex, it makes sense. Your gay."

Alex parks the car and looks at me, like he's offended. "Lillie! That's the most homophobic thing I've ever heard you say. Watch your mouth our I'll be forced to kick you in it!"

"Al, you're not Shawn Micheals," I tease back. He laughs as we get out of the car and walk to the mall doors. "Now, you promise you're not going to make me get any...uh...unmentionables?"

Alex laughs and pats me on the shoulder, "Lillie, honey, the wedding night's one of the best parts about getting married. Why wouldn't I get you something cute to wear?"

I blush, "Really, I can go without sexy lingerie. I bet you did."

Alex laughs again, "Lillie, you really don't want to know what Johnny and I do for fun. It probably breaks a lot of your 'good girl' stereotypes."

I sigh and shake my head, "I'm probably going to end up regretting this but...what exactly do you two do for fun?"

He laughs as we enter one of the bridal stores, the inside of the mall being just as big as the outside, "Lets just say that mine and Johnny's good time consists of chains, leather, and a collar."

I roll my eyes, "Your into S&M aren't you?

"Don't knock it til you try it." Alex smirks. We're going through dresses because nothing I see seems to be quite the right thing. In Alex's mind they are all either to long, to old fashioned, or to "princessy". All the dresses he picks are to loose or look to much like prom dresses. We go through the entire first store without finding something that seem's to be acceptable by the both of us. I know it's my choice to make and I really shouldn't be to worried about what he thinks about the dress but I do. He's one of my best friends and it's no surprise that I've never really been one to be all that girly.

"Al...what if there isn't a dress for me here? What if there's not a dress for me anywhere?" I ask softly as we venture around the mall and finally walk into Spencers. We aren't going to find a wedding dress here but Alex claims they have some very cute lingere that I need to try on.

Alex chuckles, "I didn't know you love him that much."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was going to marry Johnny, I started doubting myself. What could he see in a guy like me? What could he possibly want from me? Does he really love me? I told my sister, Natalie, and even though she's younger than me she gave me the perfect answer. I was doubting myself because I loved John so much and knew he deserved the best. Turns out she was right. John had been doubting himself to. You're not doubting yourself, your doubting a dress. That must be a real love." Alex laughs, "Not saying that what Johnny and I have together isn't real love."

I smile, "I do love Phil...and I do want him to be happy..."

"See. Now enough of that talk. Lets see what lingerie pieces they have..." Alex takes me into the back corner of the store. I had been in Spencers before but I had never been in there to look specifically for sexy pieces of clothing. He see's the look on my face and laughs, "You really have no idea what you need to get do you?"

I look at him timidly, "No idea whatsoever." Now, I'm not a virgin, that much all of you know. But some of this stuff makes me timid. Alex, however, seems to be right at home amongst it. Maybe I really don't want to know what he and Johnny are into.

"Well, what are you into?"

"Al, I've only ever had one type of sex. That's the kind where the man's on top and making love to you sweetly," I say, sort of sheepishly.

He looks shocked, "How do you even know your straight!"

I laugh, "Honestly Alex, I'm 19 years old. I think I would know something like that. Of course I'm straight. I just don't know what all I'm supposed to be getting here."

"Stuff for the perfect night," Alex smiles. "Like, for me, my perfect night is..." he trails off and looks at me, "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Alex, I didn't want to go lingerie shopping but you made me so I guess I have no choice."

"Well, my perfect night is having Johnny take me to a Hollywood premiere. Afterwords we come home to the hotel and he's had the bellboys set up candals with rose petals all over the bed. He's sweet but insisists that I put on the blind fold anyways. He wants to make it sensational. Usually there's some sort of handcuffs or chains involved." Alex smirks. My face is flushed, "What?"

"Out of all the things in the world that I could have gone my entire life without knowing, that was one of them," I say, in a hushed tone. "There were people around and you just sorta told everything!"

"Lillie, people who shop at Spencers are not going to judge you. Trust me. There are a lot worse things that two lovers could do to each other." Alex smiles. "Have you and Phil ever done anything together?"

"For your information we HAVE had sex," I smirk triumphantly.

"How many times?" Alex asks.

I sheepishly grin, "Once."

"Shit Lillie! You two have been together this long and haven't had sex but once? Shit! When Johnny and I were dating we fucked like rabbits!" Alex laughed.

I blush, "Phil and I were trying to wait for marriage but when he actually proposed we...well...that idea went out the window..."

"Hey, don't be ashamed. I think it's cute. I just, like, can't imagine doing it." Alex smiled. He's changed alot from the beach bum that I met so long ago at a bar with John. For starters, he's gotten a fashion sense. No longer does he dress like an 80's beach bum, he now wears typical Malibu Ken type clothes. And he usually doesn't toss the word like into every sentence. Now and again it comes out of his mouth but I find it cute. "Now, for starters you need something that's going to attract his attention." He walks over to where all the lingere pieces are. He takes a look at me and then a look back at the rack before pulling off a black corset and very tiny panties set with green trim around the top of the corset and trim around the leg holes for the panties. He holds it up to my body and smiles, "I like this one on you. It's your and his favorite colors. Oooo, do we know what colors the tux and dress are going to be? You should so go with a green dress since his tux is probably going to be black!"

I laugh, "Remember, we're going dress shopping. Or we were supposed to be. I think you've made it your official business to tamper with my sex life."

"Honey, I wouldn't call what you have at the moment a sex life. You've only had sex once. Your practically a virgin."

"That's where you're wrong, I've had sex twice!" I blurt out.

He looks at me incredulously, "You said that you and Phil only had sex once."

"Phil and I have only had sex once...the other time was with Dave..." I reply, looking away. I haven't thought about Dave since I saw him last. I don't even know how the girls are doing...

"Wow..." he says, speechless. There is an awkward silence before he thrusts the green and black lingerie piece at me. "Take it. You'll be wearing that on your wedding night. Now...onto the toys..." He leads me to another part of the back of the store. There are all sorts of sex toys back here. "Did you and Dave use anything like this?"

I shake my head and blush, "Do I have to use toys with Phil? I don't know how he's going to feel about that."

"You don't have to but I'd at least pick up a vibrator. For those...lonely nights when he's not with you." Alex grins at me.

"Are you insinuating that he's cheating on me?" my anger flares up and I don't even know why. "Or that I'm going to cheat on him?"

"Not at all hun. But what if you two get seperated on the road by the draft and one of you goes to Raw. You're going to need some way to get rid of the sexual tension. A vibrator will let you do just that," Alex smiles. "How big is Phil?"

My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets, "I don't think you have any right to ask that."

"Lillie, how big is Phil? We don't want to but a vibrator that's to much for you to handle. Even if you get use to it, if it's bigger, you'll want that instead of him. So, c'mon, how big is he? I'll tell you how big Johnny is." Alex coaxes.

"Nine inches," I sigh.

"See that wasn't so bad now was it. And for the record, John's about nine inches to." Alex smiles. He picks up a simple vibrator and smiles, "Anything else you've heard about but been to afraid to try?"

I ponder for a minute and then respond softly, "What about lube? Is it really better if you use it?"

Alex puts his hand on his hips, "You mean to tell me you to did it dry? No...let's say...natural juices to get you easy?"

I bite my lip, "No we had 'natural juices'."

"Then you don't need lube unless you necisarrily want it." Alex replies, "Let's go pay."

I hadn't even thought about paying! "Um...Alex...will you..."

He can see how nervous I am and he laughs, "Of course." We walk up to the counter and he pays for the equipment, the cute boy behind the table smiling a smile at him very reminiscent of how John smiles at him.

"Will that be it stud?" he asks.

"Yes that is," Alex smirks, "Gift wrap it for me, it's for my husband." He must have seen the look to, that subtle hint about his husband wiping the mans smirk clean off his face. The cashier puts it in a nice box and then hands it back to Alex.

"Have a nice day," he gruffly replies.

"You to," Alex says before we walk out of the store. "Now, why don't we go back to your hotel room? We can watch The Last Song!"

I swear, sometimes my best friend is more of a girl than I am.

**JUST A FORWARNING, NEXT WEEK I WILL BE SLOW GETTING CHAPTERS OUT BECAUSE I'M ON THE TECHNICAL CREW FOR ONE OF THE PLAYS AT MY COLLEGE. I WILL TRY TO WRITE IN MY FREE TIME BETWEEN WORKING ON THAT AND HOMEWORK *whispers to self* and watching yu-gi-oh: the abridged series on youtube...**


	23. Quality Mother Daughter Time

Chapter Twenty Two: Quality Mother Daughter Time

**SHOUT OUT TO MY FRIEND KAIZ-ZARH. YOU'LL SEE WHY I'M SHOUTING OUT TO YOU WHEN YOU READ IT!**

I try to block out the sound of my cell phone going off as I cuddle closer to Phil. It's early Sunday morning and I spent last night unable to sleep. No, not because Phil and I had sex. We decided to go see Paranormal Activity 2 and then decided to tell me that he thought the house was haunted. I may not seem it but I'm a bit superstitious. Telling me there's a ghost in the house: not a good idea. Phil mumbles, "Lillie get your phone…"

"No…sleep more important…" I grumble snuggling my face closer to his chest. "Prolly just Vince anyways…"

"If it is Vince, you should probably answer it. We don't want you to get fired," yawns Phil.

I nod and answer it, "Hola?"

"Hey Lillie it's your mami. I was thinking we could…we could go to brunch today…" she sounds like she's been crying and that worries me. If it's so early in the morning, shouldn't she be cuddled into Adam much like I'm cuddled into Phil's side.

I sit up, "Is everything okay?"

"Y…yeah baby girl I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out to eat for brunch. Maybe…maybe spend some mother daughter time together." She softly says.

"I'll be over soon," I tell her, getting off of the bed and getting dressed. I hang up and look at Phil whose staring at me questioningly.

"If I didn't know you better and trust you I would take you running off at this time of morning to be a sign that you were cheating on me." Phil sleepily laughs.

"It's mom. She called me saying she wants to have a family day and she sounded like she had been crying. I'm worried about her. I swear to god if that bastard Adam did something to hurt her, I'm going to hurt him worse than I already planned to hurt him!" I say. I lean over and give Phil a kiss, "I'll text you when I find out what's going on."

"Okay. I may see if Luke wants to go to the movies with Serena, Joey and I or something. Oh and I moved that Spencers bag to the closet. I didn't want to open it in case you got something for me. They have some pretty cool t-shirts and belts," Phil laughs. I try to hide the flush in my ears, knowing Phil didn't look in that bag but if he would have he would have gone bananas. I leave the house and drive the twenty minutes over to mami's house. When I get there, the first thing I notice is that there is only one car in the driveway (and no not surprising because dad collected cars, all the collected cars are in the garage). There should be two cars however, mami's and Adam's. It's weird. I park in the drive way and walk inside.

"Mom!" I shout, not wanting to look all over the mansion for her. "I'm here!"

As if on cue, mami walks in from the kitchen. "Hey baby girl." She hugs me and I hug her back. I can see tears in her eyes and…and her eye is black?

"What the hell did Adam do to you!"I growl. "Did he hit you?"

"No…yes…" Vickie softly sobs.

"Mami, you can't stay with a man who hits you!" I said, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. I sit her down in the chair and go into the kitchen to fix an ice pack. When I bring it back in, I look at her, "Tell me what happened, why that bastard hit you."

"Well, he was out late last night so I asked him where he was. He wouldn't tell me. This…this morning I saw a lipstick stain on his collar so I went through his phone. He's been texting this girl named Zara and…and by how their texts went he's cheating on me with her. So I woke him up this morning to ask him about it and we got in this big fight. He hit me and left…"

I shook my head, "That bastard! But…well…I told you he wasn't a good man mami. You didn't believe me." She looks away and I put a hand on her knee, "What about breakfast huh?"

"Yeah…we should probably go get breakfast."

"Oh no, if we're going to eat we're gonna do what we did when I was little. We're making pancakes," I smile. See, when I was little mami and I use to make pancakes together. It was always a mess. I had so much fun back then, we had so much fun back then. I understand why she became colder when dad died, she lost the love of her life. But I don't understand why our connection as mother and daughter went away.

She smiled, "Just as long as you don't make a mess this time. You're older now. I can make you clean up after yourself." We go into the kitchen and make a nice breakfast: pancakes, bacon, and toast. After we get done and we eat she looks at me, "So how are you and Phil?"

"Good, really good." I nod. I show her the ring and smile, "He proposed to me."

She smiles, "Congratulations! I knew you two were meant for each other!"

I smile, "Thanks mami. I…I wish I could say the same about your relationship."

"It's no problem, I'll probably end up divorcing him…" Vickie says.

"Why don't Phil and I move in here?" I smile.

"Oh honey, you're getting married. I couldn't possibly ask you to move in now. Start your own life with the man you love," Vickie nods.

"Mami…I'm afraid Adam's going to hurt you again. I don't want that to happen," I reply, holding her hand softly. "If I'm not here to protect you…I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"What if I get Chavo to stay with me? Will you be okay then?" she asks me, softly.

I nod, "I guess I'll be okay then." I pause, "What now? What happens to Adam?"

"I'm going to talk to Vince about moving him to Raw but as long as Jack's on Smackdown, he'll be on Smackdown." Vickie sighs. "But I won't let him stay here anymore."

I nod, "Good. Well, what do you say we go to the mall?"

She smiles, "You do know how to cheer me up." We drive to the mall in Houston and spend most of the day dress shopping or shopping for shoes. I haven't gotten to spend quality time like this with my mom in forever. When it's finally time for us to part I hug her, "I'm sorry about Adam. I'm sure someone good for you will come along soon. Tell me when you get the papers signed, I'll be over to make that asshole sign them."

Vickie nods and hugs me, "I'll call Chavo over soon so you don't have to worry about me. Tell me when you start planning the wedding though. I want to be involved in it."

I nod and hug her, "Love you."

"I love you to bambino. You're father would be so proud."

I smile, "Thanks mom."

"Now go home and back to Phil. And do me a favor?"

"Anything mom." I reply earnestly.

"When the time comes, beat Jack's ass so bad that Edge remembers it." Vickie smiles.

"That's a promise." I nod, kissing her before I leave.


	24. Blast From The Past

Chapter Twenty Three: Blast From The Past

Chavo's been living with mom for the past week and I haven't gotten any calls from her so I assume Adam hasn't been a problem. What is a problem is the fact that today, the last Friday before Survivor Series, is a Pick Your Poison Friday. For those of you who don't know what pick your poison is, it's relatively simple. I choose who Jack is going to fight and the match stipulation and he does the same for me. I've picked a great match: Jack Swagger v.s. Rey Mysterio. The match stipulation is a good ole no disqualification match. Rey may not look like it but he's great at these matches. I have yet to be told who I'm fighing but I'm sure that means one of two things. One, Jack doesn't know yet or two, Jack has known for a while and is just letting me not be able to train for it. Knowing the kind of man Jack is I''m willing to be that he knows who I'm fighting and has known for a while.

"Lillie," Phil says, entering the locker room from the bathroom, "have you seen my clippers?"

"In your bag. Are you actually going to shave?" I tease.

"I shave," he protests.

"Not nearly enough. I like your facial hair neatly trimmed," I kiss him.

Luke, who has been looking through his bag, looks at me, "Lillie do you happen to know where my beanie is?"

"First pocket, the small one," I smile.

"My Straight Edged Society shirt is missing!" Joey says, barging into the room.

"It's not missing, laundry already brought it by. It's in your locker," I nod. Sometimes I feel like I'm a mother to all three of them. "What are you three doing tonight? I mean Sunday you have your fight against The Hart Dynasty."

"Yeah Luke and I fight Tyson and David Sunday. Joey fights Vance Archer tonight so we're going out there to support him," Phil nods, "What are you wearing to your match tonight?"

I pull out one of the tops that I bought at the mall Sunday with mami. It's black and stops right above my belly button but instead of having two straps, it has two strings that tie behind the neck. "This with my black tights with the gold tribal designs up the sides and the matching boots, in fact let me go change right now." I grab the rest of my clothes and go into the bathroom to change quickly. I come back out and smile at them.

Joey smiles, "You look cute."

"No, she looks beautiful," smiles Phil. He kisses me and puts my title on my shoulder. "Well, we should probably get to the ring for your match since you've got the first main event."

"You're going out there with me?"

"Of course," Phil nods. We walk off to the backstage ramp to see that Jack is standing there, waiting for us, smirking at me when he sees me.

" Hello Lillie, ready for your match?"

I snarl, "I would be if I knew what was going on."

"Oh that's right, you don't know who you're facing. I want to keep that a surprise but I can tell you what type of match it is. Ever heard of a Texas Bullrope match?"

My blood runs cold. This is one type of match I've never been a part of not have ever watched and yet I know all about it. Two people are linked together, one wrist tied to two different ends of the same rope. The objective is to beat your opponent so bloody that you can effortlessly drag them to each of the four corners and touch the turnbuckle. It's hard for people with my fighting style because you're so close to your enemy. I'm a high flyer so distance means the world to me. "Yeah…yeah I know about them."

"Well, good luck," Jack laughs.

_**"AND IT'S JUST LIKE/THE OCEAN UNDER THE/MOON WELL THAT'S THE/SAME AS THE EMOTION/THAT I GET FROM/YOU YOU GOT THE/KIND OF LOVIN THAT/CAN BE SO SMOOTH/SO GIVE ME YOUR/HEART MAKE IT REAL/OR ELSE FORGET ABOUT/IT…"**_ my theme song plays as somber to me right now as a death march though it is full of life as are the fans. In a sense, that's what it is. The fans cheer for me but I just somberly walk to the ring with Phil who takes my title belt from me and sits on the outside of the ring.

"From El Paso, Texas your United States Champion, Lillie Guerrero!" Tony Chimel announces "And her opponent…"

_**"I WALK FOR MILES/INSIDE THIS PIT OF/DANGER I SWALLOW DOWN/THE THOUSAND YELLS OF/ANGER THE WEIGHT OF/THE WORLD HAS FALLEN/ON MY SHOULDERS A/PLACE WHERE NO ONE/FOLLOWS ME I WALK/ALONE…"**_ the fans burst into a scream of happiness while on the inside I want to scream with terror. Then he steps out: as godlike as the last time I saw him. His short black hair is still short, his ebony eyes as cold as ever but putting on a dark façade, his skin as tan as a dark beach. He wears the same black speedo with the simple name written on the ass in red and gold lettering. A simple name all the fans are now chanting: Batista.

He smirks at me as he gets into the ring. The ref looks at the two of us and ties the ends of the rope tight enough around his left wrist and my right wrist as we face each other, a spark of hatred passing briefly. The ref tells us the rules. No count outs, no submissions, and if either of us removes the rope, we're automatically disqualified. Good to know. Now one may question why the match is called a "bullrope" match if the rope is just a plain rope. Well it's not just a plain rope. In the dead center of the rope is a metal bell which can be used as a weapon. I remember dad and how he said he hurt after he faced JBL in one of these matches, that's how I know about it in the first place. The only difference, besides that I'm a girl, in this matchup is that it's not a title match. This is just a match between two people who used to be good friends, and lovers (which my dad was not with JBL so I guess that's another difference), and now hate each other. The ref motions for the bell to ring which signifies the start of the match. I try to make as much room between us as I can and we circle the ring, gaze locked on each other. I can hear shouts of encouragement from Phil but I know I will not get help from him. He finally makes the first move, going for a clothesline which I duck under and then land a small dropkick to his knees. He falls to the mat and I try to capitalize, standing and landing a kick to the kidneys. I pull Dave up and drag him over to the first corner, touching it. One down for me. I try to go for the second but Dave will have none of that and pulls me back towards him, picking me up like a sack of potatoes and slamming me back down. That means, ladies and gentleman that when I get back up, I will have to start all over from one turnbuckle.

Dave starts stomping on my gut and then gets a wicked gleam in his eyes. He takes his end of the rope and wraps it around the back of my throat. That's right ladies and gents, you thought that Daniel Bryan choking someone with a tie was bad well at least he wasn't being choked with the rope. The bad thing about this is that it's all legal. He can do whatever he wants to me in this match and get away with it. I dig my nails into his hand, drawing blood as he lets go of me. I get up and kick him over and over again in the nuts until he falls down. No one said I had to play nice. I then get out of the ring, making sure there's enough slack in the rope that he doesn't get pulled with me. I get under the ring and grab something I think will teach the douchebag a lesson: a kendo stick. It isn't my weapon of choice but, hey, it'll work. I get back in the ring and continually beat him in the back with the kendo stick. I'm not saying that seeing Dave's back split open like a wound makes me smile but…well…that's exactly what I'm saying. Just when I think Dave is down and out for me to be able to drag him around the ring, he powers up, the fans cheering as he does. He rips the kendo stick out of my hand and slaps me in the face with it. A taste of my own medicine and let me tell you, it tastes a lot like blood.

Dave growls and I feel his fist knock the wind out of me. He's not messing around. He means business. I growl as he knocks his fist into my stomach again and again and again. I cough a bit of the blood in my mouth up and it hits the mat, staining it crimson. I fall to my knees and feel Dave slapping the back of my head saying, "C'mon you pathetic slut, get up!" He slaps me hard before I fall completely down. Phil is shouting for me and I wish he'd actually get involved. Dave grabs me and tosses me into a turnbuckle, touching it and then dragging me into the next one, slamming his hand down on it right as I slam my foot into his gut. What he didn't see me do it touch the last turnbuckle and this one. So I've already touched two of the four. I kick him again as I drag him to the next turnbuckle and hit it. Now I've only got one more. One more simple turnbuckle before I win. I drag him for what seems to be an eternity and my hand comes down onto the turnbuckle…right as Dave has managed to slip my hand out of the rope. I'm bewildered as the ref counts me disqualified. I look at him and he stands up, that smirk on his face. That's it. I push him against the ropes and he wraps his arms around the second set of ropes. I hit the ropes behind him and the catapult into a 619. He staggers backwards and I attempt to land the West Coast Pop. Bad idea. Dave grabs me and manages to Batista Bomb me. The fans are screaming in excitement and I'm screaming in pain. He leaves the ring and Phil rushes in and helps me up. Let's hope I have more luck than this on Sunday or I'm screwed.


	25. Rivalry, Interrupted

Chapter Twenty Four: Rivalry, Interrupted

Unlike most house shows the Saturday before a pay-per-view, Jack and I actually have something to do. Usually they make the house show before a pay-per-view for the superstars who didn't manage to make it in the pay-per-view to show what they're purpose is. For some odd reason, however, Vince has placed us in a match. However, it's not a match against each other. We are co-captains of an eight man Smackdown team to face the eight person Raw team. That's right, for the night Jack and I have to work side by side as friends. We even have to lead a team half of men he's chosen and of men I've chosen. My men are Rey Mysterio (who managed to beat Jack last night), Alex Nooks, John Morrison, and Joey Mercury. I know John can work well with every man I've chosen. Especially Alex and Joey and the only reason I didn't choose Phil or Luke is because I know how much tomorrow's match against The Hart Dynasty means to them. Jack has chosen Edge, Batista (who is back for good everyone), and Cody Rhodes. He only gets to choose three because he's not champion and not in control here. Team Raw consists of Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan (a nice guy I sat next to him on a plane ride once), Santino Marella (great guy with a great sense of humor), Evan Bourne (even though I met him when I was dating Dave we're still friends), Sheamus (I've never met him but everyone says he's a real prick), The Miz (we all know what I think of that bendeao), Ted DiBiase jr (rich and spoiled, a shame to all second generation superstars), and Primo Colon (I met his brother once and I didn't like him, doesn't mean I won't like Primo). But no matter how good of friends I am with these people or how much I despise these people, one thing is clear. They are the enemy and Team Smackdown will win.

"So, what's our strategy Lillie?" Alex asks as he, John, Rey, and I head to find Jack and his side of the team.

"High fliers take on high fliers and brawlers take on brawlers. I'll try to fight Daniel Bryan but I've heard a lot of good things about his submission style." I nod.

"I guess I'll focus on Evan Bourne," Rey resonds.

"And I get to focus on Primo," John nods. "Which leaves Alex with The Miz."

Alex smiles, "Fine by me." We get to Jack's room and I knock on the door, the others standing behind me and ready to defend me at a moment's notice. Jack opens the door and I smile, "Came to talk about our match."

He lets us in and says, "Listen, just because we're a team tonight does not mean that I want to work with you. Hell, none of us want to work with you."

Cody looks at Jack and shrugs, "Actually, I don't have a problem with her. She's never done anything to hurt me before. It's Nooks I have a problem with."

Alex looks bewildered, "What?"

"I don't like you. I don't like the way you dress and I don't like the way you think everyone loves you because you say a few old words like radical and totally. It's disgusting. And you're not even a real wrestler, you're just a backstage tech guy!"

"Hey, be nice! I made my way up to where I am! How did you get up to where you are? By being a lap dog and following in your father's footsteps. No one helped me to get where I am now," Alex defends.

"Except your boyfried," corrects Cody.

"Don't argue!" I shout. "We have a match where we have to team up and I don't want anyone thinking they are any better than anyone else! Do you think that Team Raw is arguing right now?"

"No but in case you haven't notice, Lillie, we're not Team Raw." Dave speaks up, his voice gruff. "We're Team Smackdown, no matter how much you want to be on Raw."

"Hey, I never said I wanted to be on Raw! In fact, wasn't it you who worked for Smackdown and Raw at the same time. It's like cheating on one girlfriend with the other," I sneer.

"You would know all about cheating now, wouldn't you?" Dave asks, standing up and coming over to me. Even though he towers over me by quite a bit, I'm not afraid of him.

"Simmer down Dave," Adam calms. "As much as I want to see her get her assed kicked, right now isn't the time. Right now we all have to work together, no matter how we hate the people we're working with."

"For once, I agree with Copeland," John replies. "I think that we need to put aside any feud we may have with each other and focus on what's important here. And what's important is that we don't let each other get beat up by Raw."

It's silent for a moment before Cody asks, "So now what? Do we put our hands in and do a go team type deal thing?"

I shake my head as the others start leaving, "I'll take that as a no Cody. I'm glad you're not going to let your hatred for Alex get in the way."

"My problem isn't with him tonight. My fight is against other people. I hate it that everyone thinks that I'm such a bad person. I'm not. So I like to take care of my looks and try to help other people to be the same. So what? That's no reason to judge me."

I look at Cody, "You're an alright guy Rhodes."

"And you're not to bad yourself, Guerrero." He laughs. We walk where the others are waiting at the backstage ramp and I nod. "I guess we're using the Smackdown theme song?"

"The new one," Jack nods, still quiet. I nod as the fitting songs of the new Smackdown theme, since we moved channels to the Syfy network we changed theme songs, starts up.

"_**DO YOU KNOW THE/ENEMY DO YOU KNOW/YOU'RE ENEMY WELL GOTTA/KNOW THE ENEMY WHOA…" **_like I said, it's fitting. Either one of us teams, either Raw or Smackdown, could come tumbling down due to personal hatred. I'm not sure if my enemy is going to be the other team or if my enemy is going to be my own team. We get to the ring and huddle up.

"I say Lillie goes first," Jack smirks, "she's our leader. Lead by example."

"Fine by me. Anyone object?" I sneer. Yeah, maybe my attitude isn't the best way to secure my team into not fighting each other. Leading by example is always great. And if they follow my example right now, everyone would be fighting the person on the team they have the most problems with.

"I do actually. We should start out based on whoever they send out first. I mean, if we make Lillie start out first and then they put Sheamus in…" Rey trails off. I don't know if he's being afraid as a team member or as a father, either way he's right. I'm not as strong as Sheamus and if I was in the ring with him I'd have to find a way to fight him off other than force.

"**WE'RE GOIN OFF TONIGHT/TO KICK OUT EVERY/LIGHT TAKE ANYTHING WE/WANT DRINK EVERYTHING IN/SIGHT WE'RE GOING TIL/THE WORLD STOPS TURNING/WHILE WE BURN IT/TO THE GROUND TONIGHT…"** the Raw theme song starts up and the team struts out, the red shirts that mark them as members of the Raw roster contrasting against our blue shirts almost as much as it contrasts against Sheamus' pale skin. They get in the ring and a dinging sound echoes. The Raw team looks exasperated but us members of the Smackdown team turn to look at what it is. We, at least I, don't watch Raw as often as I should. One of the announcers, a man by the name of Micheal Cole, stands up and goes over to this podium that has a silver laptop sitting on it.

"The general manager says, and I quote, this tag team match will now be an elimination style match. The rules are clear, the first team to get every member of their opponents out will be the winners. Both feet must touch the floor after going over the top rope," Micheal Cole speaks. So their general manager hides behind a computer. Damn good thing I'm not on Raw, I would get pissed taking orders from someone I can't see. But that's not the problem. The problem is that this tag team match we were ready for, just turned into a battle royal. That means all of us will be in the ring at the same time. "But that's not all. The general manager thinks that it's a bad idea for a team made up of all boys to face a team with a girl in it. Therefore, taking Primo Colon's spot in the battle royal will be an up and coming star who is going to be on NXT next season, Zara Wayne!"

The Raw theme song starts again as I clench my fist. The only ones who know that Adam has been fooling around with this girl behind moms back on this team are me and Adam. And he doesn't know that I know. I can see why though, she's a pretty girl and young. She almost reminds me of a preppy Lita. Even her red Raw shirt is cut so low that it leaves nothing to the imagination and instead of a nice pair of wrestling tights, she's wearing a leather mini skirt that clings to her curves. Instead of wrestling boots, she's wearing stiletto heels. She smiles at my team and waves at Adam who tries to ignore her but I can see the almost predatory smirk on his face. He might want to realize that we're both enemies of hers right now, no matter how much the asshole is in love with her.

Before the bell can ring, Daniel Bryan walks over to me and outstretches his hand, "Good luck with this match."

I smile and shake his hand, "May the best team win?"

"Don't worry I plan on it," he laughs at me as we let go of each other's hands. The bell rings and he attempts to lock me in a head lock. I push him away and he hits the ropes. As he comes back towards me, I try to land a dropkick on him. It misses and he grabs my arm to wrench it behind me. I try to bring my foot up but he catches it and manages to make me fall face first to the mat. That's all he needs to lock in his cursed Labelle Lock. I've heard that even the best of superstars taps out to it. Good thing for me this is an over the top rope battle royal which means that the fact that my fist is slamming into the mat in pain means absolutely nothing. I can see Santino Marella getting thrown over the ropes by Jack Swagger who then comes over to me and stomps on Daniel Bryan which forces him to let go of me. So now the odds are seven, them, to eight, us.

I get back to my feet where Jack and I pick up Daniel and attempt to throw him over the top rope. He elbows Jack in the head who lets go of him and drops him , leaving me with his legs. I decide that I can do a submission move to combat his and turn him over for the Boston Crab. Bad idea. He rolls over onto his back and kicks out. I stumble close to the ropes, the same set of ropes that Cody goes over and crashes onto the floor. I manage to stop myself, however, and just back up. I can't risk being eliminated. Although, if I was going to get eliminated by anyone in this match, I'd want to get eliminated by Daniel. He's the best fighter on the Raw roster. I see Alex and Evan take each other out over the top ropes in a blaze of glory, Alex tossing Evan out but Evan grabbing Alex with his well muscled thighs around the head and then flinging him over the top rope, Alex pulling on Evan as he does. That means we're down to six to six. The battle rages onward. I keep my attention on Daniel who is smirking at me. There's something about fighting him that makes me feel like a better competitor. I haven't fought anyone on Smackdown that makes me need to raise my game to the next level, and that includes Rey and Phil. I get my attention focused on the man in front of me as I grab for his arms and irish whip him into the ropes. I run at him for a clothesline but miss and end the ropes. Daniel sees this as the perfect time to try and go for the elimination. I feel him grab my legs and no matter how much I kick, he doesn't let go. He tosses me over the ropes but somehow instead of hitting the floor, I grab the second rope and manage to dangle there before pulling myself onto the apron. Daniel has turned his back and is focusing on Rey now. I want to lay there for a few minutes before I get back in the ring but I get no such luck. Zara walks over to me, full of a cool and confident air. She tries to push me out of the ring with her foot before Edge grabs her arm. She turns and starts arguing with him before I crawl back into the ring.

The match rages on for what seems like an hour. I manage to eliminate Daniel Bryan, who managed to get not only Rey out of the ring but Morrison as well. Jack, Dave, and Joey were eliminated by Sheamus who Edge and I managed to get out of the ring together. Ted was eliminated by Jack before he was eliminated and Alex got rid of The Miz before he and Evan eliminated each other. It's down to me, Adam, and Zara now. I fight her tooth and nail, impressed with how strong she is before I get her out of the ring. I lean over the ropes and smile at her, fans cheering. Well…they were cheering. The crowd erupts into a chant of "You Suck". I turn to see why they would be cheering that. Edge has ripped off his blue shirt with a devilish smirk to reveal the bright red Raw shirt he's been wearing this whole time. A part of me feels betrayed, a part of me feels stupid…and yet another part of me knew this was coming. I don't have time to react before Edge tosses me out of the ring. The bell rings to signify the end of the match up, signaling Team Raw as the winners. Zara jumps into the ring and into Adam's arms who picks her up and spins her around. The son of a bitch had this planned. Whoever the general manager is, Adam knows them. I shake my head and go backstage, where the rest of my team is waiting. Well, the rest of the team that I picked at least.

"That was low, even for him!" shouts Rey.

"Jack should have never picked the bastard!" Alex agrees.

I simply shrug, "You win some and you lose some. We didn't manage to win tonight. Hopefully we can all win our respective matches tomorrow."

"Lillie, you're the only one with a match tomorrow." John smirks.

I simply laugh, "Oh yeah. Daniel Bryan must have hit me harder than I thought."

**WELL, I THINK IT WAS A GOOD CHAPTER! IT'S THE LONGEST ONE I HAVE EVER WRITTEN! I WANT TO THANK KAIZ-ZARH FOR LETTING ME USE ZARA! SHE'S A BAD ASS CHARACTER IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF!**


	26. A Dream To Make Things Right

Chapter Twenty Five: A Dream To Make Things Right

I'm lying in bed and I can't sleep. I'll be the first to admit, some of it may be anger from what happened earlier tonight with Adam betrayed Smackdown and some of it may be the fact that I'm terrified. Whatever the reason is, I can't sleep. Phil is laying beside me, almost curled into a ball like a kitten, sleeping and resting for his match tonight. Well, what is technically tonight since it's 11:59. He deserves it to. I hope he wins. The WWE needs a set of champions like him and Luke. They would be a role model for children everywhere because of their views. They'd sure be better than me that is.

For some reason since I lead my team to a loss, I've been evalutating my reign as a champion. I know it wasn't technically my fault that they lost but still something inside my heart tells me that I should have been able to predict that something wasn't right as soon as Micheal Cole read that message off from the "general manager". And…and still what Dave said still rings in my ears. That comment about wanting to go to Raw struck a nerve. I've never really thought about jumping brands from Smackdown to Raw but there is always the possibility. I mean, Raw is where almost all the big name stars are. And…and as a champion I want everyone to remember who I am and what I've done. Smackdown's mostly watched by people who are stuck inside on a Friday night but Raw…everyone watches Raw…

I shake my head and lay back on the pillow. I want, no, I need to sleep. The nerves are getting to me and they shouldn't be. God, I bet Dad never had this problem. I bet that he was always confident, both on where he wanted to be and who he would beat. Finally, after an hour of laying in bed with a killer headache because I haven't been able to sleep, I finally manage to doze off.

_I'm back in the familiar locker room and I can see my dad with the title over his shoulder. The age lines that were defined in his face the last time I saw him in this situation, the dream type situation, are still there. He has a title over his shoulder and is looking at me. In fact, the only difference is instead of the lockers being blue like they were before, they've changed to a red color. "Dad…"_

_ "Lillie, hola," he hugs me and smiles._

_ "You're the best US champion that ever lived. How did you manage not to be afraid no matter who you would fight?" I ask._

_ "Oh, I was afraid plenty of times. Especially when it came to fighting Uncle Rey-Rey or Uncle Chris (Chris Benoit for those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about). But I always managed to look past the opponent and to what the fans wanted. You can face Chavo and Rey without being scared, can't you?"_

_ "Yeah, their familia. I know that they won't hurt me. But dad this guy-"_

_ "Jack Swagger. I hear you talking about him to Phil sometimes and I can see he's not a good guy. I got to meet Phil for a few minutes," he sighs._

_ "You mean…"_

_ "He hasn't told anyone this but for a few minutes he was technically a dead man. I was the one who told him that it wasn't his time," Eddie smiled._

_ "Dad…"_

_ "Hey, what can I say, maybe I really like this guy for you. Now, this match isn't the only thing that's bothering you bambino, I can tell." He sits me down on the bench and sits next to me. "Care to tell me about it?"_

_ "Dad…what did you do when you didn't know what brand you wanted to be on? I mean, didn't you wrestle for Smackdown and Raw? Which one did you like better?" I ask softly._

_ He chuckles, "That's what I thought you were wanting to talk about all along. Changing brands was hard for me at first. Raw may look like it's all it's cracked up to be but it's really not. Smackdown, it's a dysfunctional family. You have your fights, sure, but at the end of the day you know that you're all a part of a bigger picture. Wait until the elimination type matches where you all have to work as a tag team. Once you get down who exactly the leader is, everyone falls in line to try and help." _

_ He puts a hand on my shoulder and I look at him, "Dad…you're always there for me…even though you…" the tears come to my eyes and he lifts my head with his hand._

_ "Lillie Belle, what did I tell you about crying?"_

_ "Crying is supposed to be for when you don't have the words to express yourself," I softly say._

_ "Now, I'm dead. You can admit you miss me. But don't cry over me. I'm still there for you all the time. I'm in your heart bambino. And no one can ever, ever stop me from being there." He hugs me and holds me. "You're mother did a fine job raising you without me there through your teenage years. I wish I would have been there for you. But fate had its own ideas. Go out there tonight and win for me."_

_ I nod, keeping the tears back. I lay my head on his shoulder for a few minutes and then pull back, "Dad…mom needs you in her dreams too."_

_ "I know dear. Adam hurt her badly. But she'll find love again. I know she will. Who couldn't love your mother," he smiles once again. There's a knock on the door and a head pokes in. It's Uncle Chris._

_ "Eddie, are you ready to go?" he asks in his Candian drawl. He sees me and smiles, "Lillie, good to see you again."_

_ "Hey Uncle Chris," I smile. I'm not surprised to see him here. Even through those horrid things he did, I know that our creator (no matter what you want to call him) knows that he would never do them on purpose and forgives him._

_ "Eddie, we have to be out for a tag team match in a little bit. Wrap things up here and let's get going."_

_ Eddie smiles at me and hugs me one last time, "Well, bambino, it looks like the both of us have to get going. It's almost wake up time for you."_

_ "Wait, papi, I have one more question!" I protest._

_ "What Lillie?"_

_ "Is Heaven really a wrestling ring?"_

_ He laughs, "We all perceive it differently. For us WWE types, it's a wrestling ring where we can entertain everyone. Now get."_

Phil moving on the bed next to me wakes me up and I look to see him staring at me, sleepy eyed. "It's six, if we plan on getting to the arena we need to get going."

I nod, "You…you were dead for a few minutes technically? When Jack attacked you?"

"Um, no. Who told you that?" he says giving me an odd look.

"I had a dream, must have been my mind playing tricks on me." Good old dad. He's still lying even in death.


	27. The Ultimate Showdown

Chapter Twenty Six: The Ultimate Showdown

After a long drive to the arena, Phil and I are finally nestled in my locker room. He's talking strategy with Luke about their tag team title match which is going to happen a few matches before my title defense, which is coming up shortly, while I think over my plan for tonight. There will be no cheating, no low blows. At least not on my part. I want to do this the right way, with a real win by proving that I'm stronger than he is. Not by, and no offence to my dear old dad, a cheating maneuver. I want to prove to myself that I can do it fair and square. He walks over to me and there are no words said, just a sweet and chaste kiss between the two of us. Some say that truly being straight edged means none of this. Obviously our straight edged savior doesn't. His kisses are a part of my soul and as he kisses me I know that everything is going to be okay.

I look at the clock on the wall and then back at Phil, "I have to go out there…"

"Remember, keep your fists up and ready to fight. He likes to ground his opponents so watch out for take downs," he smiles.

I nod, "Right. Wish me luck." I toss the title over my shoulder and look at myself in the mirror. My hair is braided over my shoulder and I'm wearing a Straight Edge Society shirt and black tights with white tribal designs up the sides with match boots with white laces and the same tribal designs up the sides. I look like a champion, a champion that the whole world can be proud of.

Luke smirks, "Good luck. We'll be watching in case the playing field isn't fair."

"You know as well as I do it's not going to be fair," I laugh before giving Phil another kiss and leaving the room. Rey is sitting in the hall talking with Alberto. "Why are you two sitting outside esse's?"

"Didn't know if you and Phil were in there alone for one and for another I didn't want to walk in on something that I was going to regret seeing." Rey laughs, standing up to hug me. "Good luck out there Lillie Belle."

I hug Rey, "Thanks." Turning to Alberto, I suddenly feel a little awkward. I don't know what to say to him. I have ignored every phone call and every text since the incident with him kissing me in the locker room so I feel a little uneasy. "Hi…"

"Look…I wanted to apologize for what I did in person since you don't return calls or texts. I just want you to know that I feel….I dunno…guilty I guess homes." Alberto sighs, "If it hadn't of been for me this would have never happened. You would have been there when Phil needed you the most."

"What happened happened. I love Phil with all my heart and I'm sorry that I reacted so badly. Don't feel guilty." I reply, shrugging. "Your still my best friend and no matter what…well…that's not gonna change."

Alberto extends a hand, "Friends?"

I laugh, "Friends don't shake hands. Friends give each other hugs." So that right there was a move out of my dad's playbook. He said that to…well…Dave of all people during their friendship right before he died. I hug him and look at them both, "I have to get out there first. Champs duties y'know." They nod and I head back to the waiting area where Jack is standing talking to Edge. I stand back, unnoticed.

"How the hell could you go to Raw like THAT!" Jack shouts angrily, "You were on MY side of the team which makes me look bad!"

"You're just a rookie. No one in the WWE cares what the hell you do!" Adam growls back, "I left for Zara. She's ten times the rookie you will EVER be anyways!"

"I'll show you! Out there tonight, I'll beat Lillie and I don't need you to try and interfere!" Jack growls as his theme song starts.

"He's right you know," Adam sneers, seeing me. "He'll beat you."

"No, no he won't. And you know why? He's got other things on his mind. My mind is clear," I smile softly. Nothing he can say will upset me.

"So you really think that you're mind is clear Guerrero? Think about it. Not only am I here tonight, that match that Philly boy and Luke are in got changed to a three way title match Monday. Or didn't your watch Raw? Or better yet, didn't Phil tell you?"

I shake my head, "Phil and Luke aren't in a three way match. It's Phil and Luke vs Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith."

"Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater wormed their ways in. If I were Phil I'd be careful. There's no where worse to be then on the end of a Nexus group assault. And with the recent injury he had when Jack and I attacked him…" he sighs and trails off, looking at me mock apollegetically before checking his watch. "Well, I have to go meet Zara for coffee. She's about as impatient as Vickie."

As he walks off a feeling of dread fills my soul. Why wouldn't Phil tell me something like this? Then it hits me. He wouldn't tell me something like this because he knows that if I were to know, The Nexus would involve me to. I shake my head as my theme music hits "_**AND IT'S JUST LIKE/THE OCEAN UNDER THE/MOON WELL THAT'S THE/SAME AS THE EMOTION/THAT I GET FROM/YOU YOU GOT THE/KIND OF LOVING THAT/CAN BE SO SMOOTH/SO GIVE ME YOUR/HEART MAKE IT REAL/OR ELSE FORGET ABOUT/IT…**_"

I head out on the ramp, fans cheering and chanting my name like some frenzied mob. I love it. I love when people cheer for me. And yet my mind is drawn back to the fact that tonight my boyfriends going to fight two of five (or is it seven they seem to change numbers like a rabbit, by multiplying) members of The Nexus. Jack is standing in the ring and I smile at him as I roll into the ring. He extends his hand before the bell rings, like he's going to shake my hand. I accept, ready for him to try and attack. For some reason he doesn't. We separate and just look at each other, waiting for the bell to ring. Maybe he isn't so bad when he's not listening to Adam.

We lock up in the grapple, Jack being the bigger opponent so he gets control. He puts me in a head lock right away. He's not choaking me but the way he's holding me, he's got me under his power. From that position he slams me to the mat with brute force and I hit, my head being the last thing to connect. Jack goes over to my legs. If you want to keep a bird from flying you injure it's wings. If you want to keep a high flyer from flying, you injure their legs. He grabs my left leg, the one I lead with and bends it in one of the most painful holds I've ever been in: an Anklelock. This hurts WAY more than Daniel Bryan's Labelle Lock, trust me because if you remember I've been in that too. I manage to reach out for the ropes and grab the bottom one. That makes the ref yell at Jack to let go of me and he does. How weird is this? Jack Swagger, one of two men who put Phil in the hospital, is abiding by the rules. I guess he meant what he said backstage a little while ago.

I manage to push myself up to one knee and then to a standing position. Jack obviously doesn't like that because he picks me up easily. I weigh 140 lbs to his 263 lbs. This could be a problem when it comes to fighting him. The big guys are always tough to beat. Granteed, I think this is the biggest guy I've ever actually fought in a match...that's not the point. The point is I'm lying here on my back, trying to ignore the pain in one leg and as Jack grabs my arm for an arm bar, ignore the new pain that's shooting through my arm as well. I manage to bring my other arm over and part his legs which are wrapped around my midsection in an attempt to keep control of the situation. It takes a few hits before he lets go and I'm able to make a move. I run at the ropes opposite Jack and slam my arm into his chest. He stumbles back but otherwise looks unscathed. He smirks at me, grabs my arm, and flings me into the turnbuckle. My back connects and I let out a cry of pain. The fans are starting more and more to cheer my name. They want me to win. I want me to win. And when Jack's elbow connects with my stomach only slightly…there for a moment I see something in his eyes that says he wants me to win to. He goes in for another elbow, giving me enough time to pull out of the way. What the hell is he doing? He's gotta be toying with me. There's no way he'd actually let me beat him tonight…is there?

I dart quickly around behind Jack and push him into the turnbuckle. He connects and I slam my feet to his back in a dropkick like maneuver. He falls to the mat and I have an opportunity to try out a new move I've been working on with Phil. He likes it and I like it. I climb to the top turnbuckle, waiting for Jack to get back up and as he does I go for a powerful dropkick to the head. It actually knocks him over and I roll up for the pin. 1! 2!...kick out at three! The fans boo and hiss at Jack for kicking out but somehow….I can't say that my feelings are the same. He's letting me win. Something touched a nerve since he was back there with Adam saying he'd beat me fair and square. He's thought something over and it's made him think about how he wants this match to go. He's to proud to just walk away so he's going easier on me than he would go on a normal opponent. On one hand it angers me because I don't want this fight to be thrown. I want a real deal fight. On the other hand, I feel relieved that the man who could easily fold me up like I was a piece of paper and throw me around is deciding not to do so. Saves me a trip to the hospital.

Jack lays there on the ground and I go over to him, trying to pull him into a sitting position in the nearest turnbuckle. It's easier said than done. My arm still hurts as does my leg and pulling this much weight isn't easy to begin with. I finally manage to get him where I want him, there's a pun intended there because of Jack's theme music folks, and I back up to the other corner. I run as fast as I can and land a knee to Jack's face. He may want to crap out on the audience but I don't. They want me to fight my best so I will. Jack falls to the mat again and this time I know he doesn't want to get up. The fight has gone out in his eyes. I drag him back over to the center of the ring, I know all that work for nothing right, and climb the ropes again. I kiss my index and middle finger and then point up to the sky, gotta honor dad if I'm going to do this right, and I jump off for the Five Star Frog Splash. I land on him and roll him up in the pin. 1! 2! 3! The announcer says my name and the ref raises my hand in victory. I see Jack walk off, smiling knowingly and I get out of the ring and follow him backstage. "What was the deal out there hombre?" I ask.

"As much as I wanted to win the title out there…I realized something else. I hurt you, I hurt Phil. And for what? For a guy who eventually betrayed me because he found some girl at a party. I didn't want you to lose your title because of that. Hell, at first I didn't even want to get into this championship title hunt. It was all Adam's idea. So you know what I say? Screw Adam." Jack smiles. It's not the like the smirks I've seen in the past. This is a real smile from a real person.

"You know what Swagger, you're okay in my book." I laugh, extending a hand for him to shake. "Friends?"

Jack shakes my hand, "More like acquaintances." I let go of his hand and turn to start walking away. "Oh and Lillie?" I turn back to him a smile on my face.

"Yeah Jack?"

"If I ever do want that title you know you're totally fucked right?" Jack smirks.

"Yeah Jack, I know."

**I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT NO ONE EXPECTED! HOPE YOU LIKED IT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT QUITE DONE YET!**


	28. Epilog

Epilog

There are always more important things than a title belt, more important clothing than a wrestling or exercise outfit, and more important people than your co-workers. It's been months since that match against Jack and that night where Phil and Luke were almost crowned tag team champions and at least a month since I lost my title to Alex Nooks on Smackdown. Today, however, none of that matters. Today only one things matters. Staring at myself in the mirror I smile. I look like something out of a fairy tal and I feel like a fairy tale come to life. I haven't seen Phil in a week but I know that he's downstairs waiting for me, probably in a tuxedo. How do I know this? Well, all grooms were tuxes on their wedding day.

I look at myself in the mirror and fix the bottom of my dress so it's even. It's a green dress with only one flowered strap that goes over my right shoulder. The bodice of the dress is a sparkly green material and that eventually parts in the middle to go over a white lacy base. It took me a month to finally find this one and I liked it, to hell with what everyone else thought. My heels are plain and silver and my hair is pulled into a French bun with is clipped with the same type of white flower that not only is on the straps of my dress but on the bunched up part of my dress and in my bouquet. I hear the door open behind me and turn to see mom enter. She looks good in her black skirt and pink button up shirt. "Oh…hey mami…"

"Shouldn't you be down there waiting for them to play the most important theme music you'll ever hear?" she teases.

"Yeah I…I was just thinking…" I smile softly and sadly. I was thinking about dad. I wish he could be here to see this. I really do.

"You know as well as I do he's watching down from up there," Vickie softly says to me and kisses my head. "He'd be so proud of you."

I hug her and try not to cry in fear of ruining my makeup. "I know mami."

She smiles and says, "Well, we best get down stairs and fast. We're both in the wedding party."

I nod and we walk downstairs quickly. Our wedding party, spearheaded by both of our mothers (Phil's dad finally died a while back), isn't big but it's full of people we love and trust. My bridesmaids are wearing strapless green dresses with a bow at the center and it's cut off right above the knee along with black heels. Well, most of my bridesmaids are at least. We all thought that having Alex in a green dress would be awkward, even with as much as a "pretty princess" he wanted to be today. Serena is my maid of honor and she wears the same outfits at the others. All in all my bridesmaids consist of Serena, Alex, and Angie Mysterio. Phil's groomsmen are wearing plain black suits with green ties and black buckle shoes, easy enough. His best man, Luke of course, is wearing the same thing. All in all his groomsmen consist of Luke, John, and Matt Hardy. I go and stand next to Rey who is wearing a black suit with a black bow tie and black buckle shoes. "You look beautiful," he smiles.

"Thanks Uncle Rey. I…I'm glad you said you'd walk me down the aisle. You're the closest thing to a dad I've got." I laugh almost at the irony.

"Lillie, I wouldn't have passed up this opportunity for the world," he smiles hugging me. I love how short Uncle Rey is. "Phil doesn't look shabby either." Rey laughs.

I turn my head to see Phil standing next to me on the other side and I about have a heart attack, not having seen him standing there. "Sorry babe," he laughs going in for a kiss. Rey's right though he doesn't look half bad. His long black hair is swept into a small ponytail at the base of his neck and he's actually shaved his face. His tuxedo is an emerald green color instead of the normal black and he's wearing a black tie.

Rey shakes his head and pulls me away, "Oh no. She gets her kiss from you AFTER the priest says she can."

I don't have the guts to tell him Phil and I have done oh so much more than kiss so I just smile, "Alright Rey."

The music starts up and one right after another members of the wedding party make their way out there. Phil goes right before me and I see him walk up the aisle, which is set out in between sets of white folding chairs because we decided to make this a private wedding in our backyard, and finally the music hits. Here's the moment I've been waiting for all my life. Rey walks me up the aisle and I see faces that I didn't think would make it. Jeff Hardy and his girlfriend Kaia Zeke are sitting by the McMahon family, I wonder why, and Jack Swagger sits a few chairs over. Uncle Hector is here, Chavo is here…it's perfect. We go through the ceremony and finally the priest gets to those big words. "Do you Philip James Brooks take Lillie Belle Guerrero to be your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health til death do you part?"

Phil looks me in the eye and says, "I do."

"And do you Lillie Belle Guerrero take Philip James Brooks to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health til death do you part?

"I do."

"Then you may kiss the bride," the priest smiles.

He leans in and kisses me. Let me tell you something, people may say that this kiss isn't different than any other kiss but it is. It's slower, it's sweeter, and it means more than any other kiss you will have in your entire life time. It means you have decided this one person is all you want, all you need and have decided to share your entire life with them. And that's exactly what I intend to do. I intend to share my entire life with Phil. And this, well this is just the beginning.

**END**

**WELL FOLK'S, HERE ENDS THE STORY! AS MUCH OF A CLIFFY AS IT IS THERE WILL BE NO OTHER STORY DONE ABOUT LILLIE! BE SURE TO LOOK OUT FOR OTHER STORIES USING OTHER CHARACTERS, AND MAYBE A FEW RETURNING ONES!**


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